Oakland County\u2019s latest round of medical debt relief eliminated debt for 6,300 residents, totaling nearly $6 million.<\/p>\n
The county is partnering with Undue Medical Debt<\/a>, which officials said has now provided $15 million in medical debt relief to more than 20,000 residents since the partnership began in 2023.<\/p>\n The work is funded by $2 million that Oakland County received from the American Rescue Plan Act.<\/p>\n \u201cThis initiative is about giving people a second chance,\u201d Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cBy eliminating this burden for thousands more residents, we\u2019re helping people regain their financial footing.\u201d<\/p>\n Medical debt impacts about 114,000 Oakland County residents, Coulter said.<\/p>\n Courtney Werpy Story, vice president of government initiatives at Undue Medical Debt \u2014 previously called RIP Medical Debt \u2014 said the group plans on using the funding to relieve even more debt in the county.<\/p>\n Undue Medical Debt buys<\/a> medical debt in large portfolios at a steep discount from debt collectors who have all but given up on recouping the money. Then, instead of pursuing payment, the group simply forgives the debt.<\/p>\n Because the organization buys distressed debt in bulk, it’s able to provide relief worth far more than what the county paid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a really powerful return on their initial $2 million investment, and we’re not done yet,\u201d Story said. \u201cThe contract runs through the end of the year, and we anticipate announcing a couple more rounds of relief before the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n In order to be eligible for the program, residents must make less than four times the federal poverty level or have medical debt that is more than 5% of their annual income. Residents helped by this round of relief started receiving notification letters from Undue Medical Debt on March 9.<\/p>\n Undue Medical Debt also has contracts with Wayne and Kalamazoo counties, in addition to the state of Michigan. The state dedicated<\/a> $4.5 million to the effort in 2023 and announced<\/a> in July that it had provided $144 million in relief to 210,000 residents across the state.<\/p>\n