National nonprofit eliminates unpayable medical debt for 13 million Americans in just 11 years 

QUEENS, NY – June 11, 2025 – Today, Undue Medical Debt announced that the national nonprofit has successfully abolished $20.3 billion in medical debt for 13 million people since being founded in 2014. 

Medical debt impacts 100 million people in the United States, totaling over $220 billion in medical debt, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Per Gallup, 30 million U.S. families borrowed an estimated $74 billion to pay for medical bills last year alone.  

“I’m incredibly proud that we’ve reached this milestone of $20.3 billion in medical debt eliminated for 13 million people and even more resolved to achieve our ultimate mission: to tackle the root causes of medical debt so we can one day put ourselves out of business,” said Undue Medical Debt President and CEO, Allison Sesso. “While debt relief provides families with welcome peace of mind and immediate relief, we’re committed to working toward upstream policy solutions to end this crisis once and for all.” 

Undue Medical Debt uses an innovative model, leveraging donated dollars to eliminate medical debt entirely. By working directly with hospitals, health systems and the secondary debt market to acquire medical debt in bulk, Undue is able to turn one donated dollar into $100 of medical debt relieved on average. 

Once acquired, the debt is simply erased. The organization focuses on relieving debt for those who need it most: individuals earning four times the federal poverty level or below or whose medical debt equals 5% or more of their income. 

“Medical debt is both a financial and emotional burden that forces families to make impossible choices simply because someone got sick, was in an accident or was born with a chronic condition,” said Allison. “This milestone represents real families who can now breathe a little easier and re-engage with the healthcare system without fear.” 

Nationally, the medical debt crisis seems likely to only get worse. A rule finalized in January by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would have removed nearly $50 billion in medical debt from 15 million people’s credit scores is now likely rolled back as it withers in district court. And the ongoing budget reconciliation in Congress is slated to remove access to both Medicaid and marketplace insurance for millions, resulting in an estimated $26 billion in additional medical debt.  

“Even as we mark this occasion, elected officials in Washington are considering a budget bill that, as written, would take healthcare away from millions and escalate the medical debt crisis in this country. While this is happening, the administration is also moving to quietly kill a rule that would have removed medical debts from people’s credit scores—a common sense change that would have a big impact on financial security of families striving to make ends meet,” said Allison. “I’m heartened by the relief we can provide right now, but we must also address the root causes. In these uncertain times, we should be strengthening access to comprehensive and affordable healthcare, not cutting it.”