Tzedek DC spearheaded a medical debt cancellation campaign that wiped out over $42 million in debt for more than 62,000 DC residents. The relief was due to a public dollar investment by the DC Government, which Tzedek DC recommended and catalyzed. Using DC-provided grant dollars, the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt purchased debt directly from a DC hospital system and eliminated that debt.
DC residents whose income is under four times the federal poverty level or those with medical debt exceeding 5% of their income were eligible for relief. Over 80 percent of residents benefiting from the cancellation live in zip codes that are majority Black or community members of color. In addition to eliminating the debt, Undue Medical Debt took steps to have these debts removed from patients’ credit reports maintained by major credit reporting agencies such as Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.
This initiative, and Tzedek DC’s catalytic role in it, attracted widespread media attention. It was featured in 12 articles from major outlets such as The Washington Post and played numerous times across 6 television stations and 2 radio stations, including ABC 7, Fox 5, and WUSA9. The program’s local and national coverage generated over 500 million impressions, highlighting its impact while sparking important discussions on healthcare reform, financial equity, and social justice. Links to the articles are included below, and snippets from television and radio are featured in the reel above, also available by clicking here.
Tzedek DC also helped catalyze faith-based private medical debt relief along the same model. Tzedek DC moderated and participated in a panel discussion in October 2023, with Temple Sinai that spawned their fundraising efforts that led to the cancellation of over $4.3 million in medical debt. Similarly, we participated in a forum with St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in April 2024, that kicked off a campaign leading to the cancellation of a further $3.6 million in medical debt.
These cancellation efforts also highlight the need for forward-looking systemic reform to help ensure that DC residents needing medical care do not end up in a situation where they need this relief in the first place. Tzedek DC is actively exploring reforms to, among other things:
Strengthen financial assistance policies both by making such programs easier for patients to access as well as by expanding their scope to include more health care providers and more patients.
Improve protections related to medical debt through, for example, prohibiting lawsuits to collect or wage garnishment for medical debt held by those eligible for free or reduced-price care.
Adjust hospital spending and pricing policies to be more equitable.
Increase enforcement of compliance of existing rules and any newly enacted rules.
Article Links
The Washington Post – ‘D.C. cancels $42 million in medical debt for residents’
Yahoo – ‘$42 million in medical debt erased for more than 62,000 DC residents’
AOL – ‘$42 million in medical debt erased for more than 62,000 DC residents’
Washington Times – ‘Medical debt canceled for 62,000 District residents’
American Military News – ‘City erases $42 million in medical debt for over 62,000 residents’
Hoodline – ‘Over $42 Million in Medical Debt Cleared for 62,000 Washington, D.C.’
TANTV – ‘Thousands of Low-income DC Residents to Become Medical-Debt-Free’
WTOP News – ‘How DC used less than a quarter-million dollars to clear $42M of debt for residents’
WUSA9 – ‘DC to cancel nearly $42 million in medical debt for low-income residents’
FOX 5 DC – ‘$42 million in medical debt erased for more than 62,000 DC residents’
ABC 7 – ‘‘This is a big win’: DC residents see $42 million in medical debt canceled’