The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health applauds the City of Los Angeles’ adoption of the County’s ordinance requiring hospitals to report standardized data on financial assistance and debt collection practices, an important step to prevent medical debt and strengthen protections for patients.
Under the ordinance, Public Health will collect standardized data from the 34 acute care hospitals in the City of Los Angeles to strengthen financial assistance programs and identify gaps where eligible patients may not be receiving help. This data will help hospitals improve access to financial assistance and prevent avoidable medical debt.
“Medical debt is crushing working-class families across Los Angeles, and we cannot fix what we refuse to see,” said Los Angeles Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “As the Trump administration slashes healthcare and destabilizes immigrant communities, the pressure on our residents is only getting worse. This ordinance allows us to finally collect the data needed to connect Angelenos to real relief — at no cost to the City. A hospital bill should never be the reason a family falls into poverty.”
“This ordinance helps address inequities that have long left some people carrying a heavier financial burden just to get care,” said Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “Too many families who qualify for financial assistance never receive it, and the consequences can follow them for years. By strengthening financial assistance systems and using data to close gaps, we can prevent avoidable medical debt before it harms people’s health, housing stability, or economic security. Access to care should not depend on zip code, income, or background.”
Medical debt remains a major public health issue in Los Angeles County. In 2023, more than one in nine adults carried burdensome medical debt, totaling more than $2.9 billion. Medical debt disproportionately impacts families with children and communities of color and is linked to housing instability, stress, and worse health outcomes.
The Medical Debt Relief Program, launched by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in December 2024 and administered in partnership with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, is designed to bring real relief to residents who have been most impacted by medical costs by purchasing qualifying debts from partnered hospitals, health systems, and collection agencies for a fraction of their face value.
Through an initial $5 million investment approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program was originally authored by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly J. Mitchell, who led the Board action to establish the initiative and secure its initial funding. The County’s goal is to retire an estimated $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, representing nearly a quarter of the total $2.9 billion of medical debt held across Los Angeles County. To date, the debt relief program has erased over $363 million in medical debt for more than 171,000 individuals.
This action builds on Los Angeles County’s broader efforts to prevent medical debt and advance health equity by strengthening hospital financial assistance practices and improving transparency across the healthcare system.
For more information about Los Angeles County’s medical debt prevention efforts, visit: ph.lacounty.gov/preventmedicaldebt.
