Queens, NY – April 16, 2025 – TIME has named Allison Sesso, CEO and president of national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, to the 2025 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes appear in the April 28, 2025, issue of TIME. More at time.com/time100 

The list recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. This year’s honorees include: Ed Sheeran, Serena Williams and Demi Moore. 

“It’s an honor to be among such an impressive cohort of global leaders, innovators and artists; I appreciate this opportunity to call more attention to the medical debt crisis in this country,” shares Undue Medical Debt CEO and president Allison Sesso. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of medical debt are burdening families in the U.S. and I will continue to use my platform to advocate for healthcare that is comprehensive and affordable, informed by the experiences of real people. All the while Undue Medical Debt will find and erase these debts of necessity for those least able to make ends meet.”  

Under Allison’s leadership Undue has soared to new heights in the last few years, including: 

• Penning contracts with over 20 local and state government partners across the country including Cook County, Los Angeles County, Arizona, New Jersey and Michigan. To date these partnerships have erased over $2 billion of medical debt for local residents.  
• Receiving its third donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in December of 2024, totaling $50 million.  
• Announcing its largest debt acquisition to date, $30 billion of qualifying medical debt to be erased for an estimated 20 million people across the country.  
• Continuing to build out its policy shop with the “First, Do No Harm” project which features interviews with clinicians like doctors and nurses along with patients to better understand how the growing medical debt crisis is impacting their relationships.  

With potential cuts incoming for Medicaid and marketplace insurance subsidies for lower-income families the medical debt crisis is on track to keep growing, unfortunately.