A hospital and clinic system based in New Orleans, serving Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, has partnered with a non-profit organization from New York to eliminate $366 million worth of medical debt for approximately 193,000 patients in need. The initiative led by Ochsner Health and Undue Medical Debt, a donor-funded organization, focuses on negotiating with healthcare providers to purchase and cancel outstanding medical debt for individuals facing financial hardships. Ochsner Health, the largest healthcare system in Louisiana with 46 hospitals and 370 clinics, expressed pride in collaborating with Undue Medical Debt to alleviate the financial burden of eligible residents.
The recent agreement between Ochsner, Undue Medical Debt, and the city of New Orleans aims to erase over $59 million in medical debt for around 66,000 patients within the city. Last year, the city allocated $1.3 million in federal funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to Undue Medical Debt to acquire and eliminate qualifying medical debt as part of a pandemic relief effort. Undue Medical Debt’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Daniel Lempert, credited the city government for kickstarting the process and highlighted the organization’s ability to identify additional debts eligible for the program after collaborating with the hospital.
In addition to utilizing pandemic relief funds, Undue Medical Debt utilized donations and grassroots fundraising from local and national sources to acquire the medical debt from Ochsner. Although the specific amount paid was not disclosed, based on previous statements by the organization indicating a payment of approximately 1 cent per dollar of debt, the estimated amount would be around $3.6 million.