While the program, launched under El-Sayed in 2024<\/a>, does seek to erase up to $700 million in medical debt for 300,000 residents by buying it from providers at a bulk discount, that hasn’t happened yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than two years in, Wayne County says it has so far paid off the equivalent of $57.4 million in medical debt for 83,291 residents<\/a>, far less than the ambitious goal El-Sayed promotes on the campaign trail.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0<\/p>\n The county partnered with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt on the project, signing a two-year, $5 million contract,<\/a> with an option to add another $2 million if local officials approve. Records show just under $400,000 from the county has been used so far in debt settlement deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner characterized the program as \u201cactive and in progress,\u201d noting the county approved the needed funds to settle $700 million while he headed the department.\u00a0<\/p>\n More Wayne County debt purchases are currently in the works, Courtney Werpy Story, Undue Medical Debt\u2019s vice president of government initiatives, told Bridge Michigan. She expected it would take more time and negotiations with medical providers to get the full amount settled.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically for us, it takes about a year to two years to really get going with a program, to build those relationships with hospitals and providers,\u201d she said, noting that for most hospitals, selling off debt is a \u201cnew process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Medical debt relief is one of many initiatives El-Sayed led in prior public health leadership roles that have faced increased scrutiny as he seeks the Democratic nomination for Michigan\u2019s open US Senate seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n His three-way primary battle with US Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, along with the winner\u2019s eventual general election matchup against Republican Mike Rogers, make Michigan\u2019s Senate race one of the most closely-watched in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond medical debt relief, El-Sayed has worked to remind voters of his work to offer free glasses for children in Detroit and Wayne County, increase public access to Narcan, address lead issues in schools and improve available air quality data.\u00a0<\/p>\n Critics have raised concerns about some aspects of his work, however, arguing his 2023 public health emergency order<\/a> to address safety concerns at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility didn\u2019t resolve poor conditions<\/a> at the facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election, Bridge analyzed key aspects of El-Sayed\u2019s public health background that he has touted on the campaign trail, and will similarly review the past work of other US Senate candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Medical debt relief<\/p>\n In a May rally with US Sen. Bernie Sanders, El-Sayed claimed Wayne County “erased $700 million of medical debt” but later more accurately acknowledged that the figure remains an aspirational goal.<\/p>\n “When we found out that … we could eliminate it for pennies on the dollar, guess what we did? We set aside $7 million to erase up to $700 million of medical debt,” he said.<\/p>\n Speaking to a US Senate committee in July 2024 as county health director, El-Sayed shared a personal reason why easing the burden of medical debt was a priority to him: A year prior, he\u2019d developed an inguinal hernia that required preventive surgery. Insurance didn\u2019t cover all of it, meaning he had to cover nearly $5,000 in out-of-pocket costs.<\/p>\n \u201cHad I not been insured, had I not had the means to pay my out-of-pocket costs\u2026I might have wound up being one of the millions of people in this country with medical debt,\u201d he said. \u201cThese impossible choices too many Americans are forced into are why we hold so much debt in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed contends the best long-term solution to health care affordability is a national single-payer \u201cMedicare for All\u201d system<\/a>, a path he and other progressives argue would prevent people from accruing steep medical debts in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a public health official, he pitched erasing medical debt as the next best thing for residents who couldn\u2019t pay bills or experienced an unexpected health emergency, saying the government \u2014 in partnership with Undue Medical Debt \u2014 had leveraging power to negotiate down debts.<\/p>\n The program, approved by Wayne County commissioners in 2024, benefits residents who earn less than 400% of the federal poverty level or whose medical debt exceeds 5% of their overall income. Qualifying residents don\u2019t apply, but are notified via letter if their debt is purchased and erased.\u00a0<\/p>\n Undue Medical Debt works to buy medical debt in bulk below face value from hospitals, other providers and medical debt collectors. Oakland and Kalamazoo counties funded similar local programs using federal funds that are active through the end of the year. The state of Michigan also works with the group, announcing this week<\/a> that $200 million in statewide medical debt has been wiped clean since that partnership began.\u00a0<\/p>\n Werpy Story of Undue Medical Debt said the nonprofit is currently in talks with Wayne County officials on the possibility of extending the contract. The group views Michigan\u2019s combined local and state efforts to alleviate medical debt as \u201cone of the national models for government-led relief,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re going to continue to chip away at it, and this is very normal for our work,\u201d she said, later adding: \u201cHospitals have so many competing priorities right now, especially as the federal landscape continues to change, so it unfortunately just takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n But the county\u2019s program has run into roadblocks. In May, freelance journalist Kayleigh Lickliter reported two of Detroit\u2019s three major hospital systems, DMC and Corewell Health, aren\u2019t yet participating<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because there\u2019s no way to publicly track whose debts are being erased, some county commissioners have questioned the program\u2019s transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\n During a Feb. 10 discussion on the issue<\/a>, Commissioner Monique Baker McCormick said she \u201cjust would like to have some accountability\u201d as she hadn\u2019t heard from anyone who had personally benefited from the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fellow Commissioner Allen Wilson agreed, suggesting debt relief efforts were \u201ccloaked in secrecy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very challenging to me when individuals in my community or my district say to me, \u2018Hey, is there such thing as a medical debt relief? I read about it somewhere, but I don’t know anybody who received it,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Glasses guarantee\u00a0<\/p>\n In his capacity as health director in both Detroit and Wayne County, El-Sayed prioritized free access to glasses for kids through a mobile eye care clinic, partnering with the national nonprofit Vision to Learn to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n He has frequently referred back to the initiative as a success story: A 2025 campaign video<\/a> features El-Sayed sporting large circular frames and calling the initiative \u201cone of the most important programs we built,\u201d and claiming the program delivered \u201ctens of thousands of pairs of glasses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When I was Wayne County\u2019s Health Director, we kicked off our program to deliver over tens of thousands of pairs of free glasses to Michigan kids who needed them\u2014just like I did in Detroit nearly a decade ago. Because that\u2019s what public service is about. pic.twitter.com\/sHDewYTl6w<\/a><\/p>\n — Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) October 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_4669-scaled-1-1024x768.webp\")
The Guardian Building in downtown Detroit houses Wayne County government offices.\u00a0(Bridge Detroit file photo)<\/p>\n\n