LA County to Allocate $5 Million to Erase Medical Debt for Thousands of Residents

The most populous county in the United States, with nearly 10 million people, is now looking to buy out the medical debt for around 150,000 of its most struggling residents. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted June 25 to set aside $5 million to partner with a national nonprofit called Undue Medical Debt to buy and erase hundreds of millions of dollars of debt. The program is expected to roll out in stages later this year. “No one should be driven into poverty because they got sick,” said a statement from Supervisor Janice Hahn, who introduced the proposal along with Supervisor Holly Mitchell....