Undue Medical Debt

08/19/2026

Before the exam. Before the scan. Before anyone tells you what’s actually wrong.

More hospitals and provider offices are asking families to pay up front, sometimes thousands of dollars, before care happens. KFF Health News recently reported that providers now collect roughly a quarter of what they expect a patient to owe before the visit. A few years ago that number was closer to 15 percent.

What’s driving it isn’t a mystery. Deductibles keep climbing. The average ACA marketplace deductible jumped 37 percent this year, to $3,786. Employer family coverage sits right around the same spot. When plans leave that much on a family’s tab, providers start collecting earlier, and people end up self-insuring in everything but name.

And it isn’t working for anyone. Uncollected patient debt is still rising. Families are still walking away from care they can’t prepay.

The fix isn’t a smarter deposit policy. It’s affordable, comprehensive coverage that takes the patient out of the financial equation before a bill ever exists. 💙

08/18/2026

$16.2 million in medical debt. Gone. For more than 1,900 Rhode Islanders.

That's the two-year track record of a partnership between Rhode Island's state treasurer and Undue Medical Debt, backed by $1 million from the General Assembly.

One recipient described years of fertility treatments, endless doctors' visits, and stacks of bills before a letter showed up with the treasurer's seal on the envelope. Their medical debt had been erased, no application required.

"There's nothing more powerful than reading those testimonials," said Treasurer James Diossa. "The last thing we want a new mother or new family to worry about is medical debt."

This is what happens when states put real money behind real solutions. 💙

Read more from WPRI:

Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa’s office says the program has relieved more than $16.3 million in medical debt since 2024.

08/14/2026

Big news around here: our President & CEO Allison Sesso just made Forbes' 50 Over 50: 2026 list, Forbes' yearly shoutout to 200 women proving age is no limit on impact. 🎉

Since 2020, Allison has led Undue Medical Debt in abolishing over $49.6 billion in medical debt for more than 31.6 million people, turning debt relief from a one-time favor into real public policy across 28 jurisdictions.

We could not be prouder to work alongside her. Join us in celebrating this well-deserved recognition. 💙

08/14/2026

Meet Heather K., from Gales Ferry, CT.

Heather and her husband had been carrying medical debt for years, debt that started with the births of their three children and a miscarriage, plus every appointment that came with each. A rough patch in her husband's job made it harder. So did debt he'd brought into the marriage.

We abolished $8,672 of it.

"This is truly a blessing... At each step of the way, our faith never wavered. This help is proof that we've continually been provided for. We cannot thank this organization enough." That's how Heather described it.

Heather's family did the hard work: budgeting, financial counseling, cutting costs, rebuilding. We're glad we could lighten the load. 💙

08/12/2026

Oncologist Dr. Emil Lou put it well in a new Medscape piece: a cancer diagnosis asks you to trust a stranger with your life in a matter of minutes. Researchers call it "swift trust," and it's fragile.

One of the fastest ways to break it? Money.

As Dr. Lou writes, nearly half of all cancer patients face serious financial toxicity, the term researchers coined back in 2013 to describe how out-of-pocket costs, missed wages, and mounting bills become part of the illness itself. In the US, that number climbs as high as 54%.

The consequences go beyond the bank account. Cancer patients are two and a half times more likely to file for bankruptcy, and those who do face an 80% higher risk of early death. Financial strain pushes patients to skip doses, delay scans, and hide the truth from their care team because they're scared or ashamed.

That's not a billing problem. That's a trust problem, and healthcare providers know it. Many are working to name it early and connect patients with financial counselors and navigators from day one, exactly what Dr. Lou calls for in his piece.

The real fix is bigger than any single hospital or clinic: affordable, comprehensive coverage that takes patients out of the financial equation entirely. Since 2014, we've abolished over $49.6 billion in medical debt for more than 31.6 million people, working to make sure a cancer diagnosis doesn't have to mean a lifetime of debt too. 💙

Read Dr. Lou's full piece on Medscape. Link in the comments.

08/07/2026

Nobody teaches you how to handle a hospital bill. So here's a starter pack.

Every one of these is legal, normal, and something billing departments deal with all day. You're not being difficult. You're being a person with a bill you didn't choose.

Save this one for later 💙

08/07/2026

Meet Kristina, from Concord, NC.

Living with a chronic illness is hard enough on its own. Add a stack of hospital and MRI bills, and something has to give.

We abolished $10,705 of Kristina's medical debt.

"In a time when some of us have to decide what's more important, putting bread on the table or paying off emergency debts, the answer is easy: we survive." That's Kristina's own take on it.

Even a $50 monthly minimum can mean choosing between a bill and groceries. That's not a budgeting problem. That's a broken system. 💙

08/04/2026

"We're really crushing people who are desperately trying to pay their bills."

That's not us saying it. That's Laura Kaiser, CEO of SSM Health, one of the largest nonprofit hospital systems in the country.

Since Congress let enhanced ACA subsidies expire, millions have lost coverage. Enrollment is down 13% this year alone. At SSM Health, unpaid medical bills are up 37%. Patients aren't skipping care because they don't need it. They're skipping it because they can't afford it, and when they do go, they can't pay for it.

"The hospitals are absorbing that, and we can't," Kaiser said.

Hospitals can't absorb it. Patients can't pay it. That's exactly the gap we exist to close.

08/04/2026

New research just confirmed something we've seen for years: financial stress doesn't just drain your bank account, it changes your brain.

A British study following more than 2,700 people since 1946 found that people who lived in poverty in their 20s through 50s scored worse on memory and cognitive tests decades later. The damage held up even after researchers accounted for childhood disadvantage.

This is what medical debt does. It's not just a number on a bill. It's chronic stress that reshapes how your brain works, for years, sometimes for good.

Since 2014, we've abolished over $49.6 billion in medical debt for more than 31.6 million people. Because no one should have to choose between their health and their mind.