Nationwide, four in 10 adults are saddled with medical debt due to insufficient health care coverage; Black adults are 50 percent more likely and Latinx adults are 35 percent more likely to hold medical debt than white adults.
Medical debt can cause families to forgo necessities , including health care, face higher risks of food insecurity and eviction , and are squeezed financially and suffer from reduced credit scores.
Grim contacted Undue Medical Debt, conferred with the mayor and other city leaders, and introduced a proposal to City Council in September This ultimately resulted in a larger program backed by a broader political alliance when council passed the ordinance seven to five in November Toledo contracted with Undue Medical Debt to implement its medical debt relief program in May Founded in by former debt collection executives, Undue Medical Debt is a nonprofit charity with the sole purpose of eliminating medical debt.
The group negotiates with healthcare providers to purchase large portfolios of medical debt held by people facing financial hardshipβliving at or below percent of the federal poverty level or having medical debt totaling 5 percent or more of their household incomeβat pennies on the dollar. Undue then cancels the debt, sending out letters to the individuals explaining that their debt has been abolished.
Mercy Health was the first to collaborate with Undue, announcing their partnership in October , followed by ProMedica in February Beyond the financial hardship criteria described above, there is no selection process to decide whose debt is relievedβthe program reaches all qualifying debt holders.
