Thousands of Oakland County residents receive medical debt relief 

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—More than 14,000 Oakland County residents are being notified that $9.1 million in medical debt has been forgiven. The news is contained in letters expected to arrive by the end of this week.

“This is helping individuals and families pay off their medical debt and rehabilitate their credit scores, giving people the freedom to fully participate economically and live their best lives,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter.

This latest round is part of a broader initiative funded by Oakland County to eradicate up to $200 million in medical debt for approximately 80,000 residents across the county using $2 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The program, conducted in partnership with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, is designed to provide financial relief to those burdened by unpaid medical bills.

Medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., affecting an estimated 114,000 Oakland County residents. This program aims to ease that burden by identifying qualifying debts, purchasing them for pennies on the dollar and then canceling them.

“Shedding the heavy burden of medical debt can have a life-changing impact on our area families. We celebrate the milestone of helping more than 14,000 residents across the county,” said Board of Commissioners Chair David T. Woodward (D-Royal Oak). “This initiative highlights our commitment to building a healthy and thriving community, lowering costs for working families and helping people achieve economic freedom.”

Undue Medical Debt partners with health systems, individual hospitals and physicians’ groups to identify eligible debts held by current Oakland County residents earning at or below four times the federal poverty level or those whose medical debt exceeds 5% of their annual income. Once identified, the debts are purchased and forgiven.

Last March, with the support of Michigan Sen. Appropriations Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), the state helped to fund local medical debt forgiveness initiatives in Oakland, Wayne, Ingham and Kalamazoo counties with a $4.5 million appropriation in the 2024 budget.

A similar program aims to relieve $700 million in medical debt for Wayne County residents.

Because medical debt relief is source-based, qualifying debts can only be relieved if the provider that owns them is willing to partner on the initiative. Individuals are unable to request medical debt relief. However, Undue Medical Debt has invited regional providers like hospitals to engage.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.