LA City Council Approves Ordinance To Address Medical Debt For Residents

Los Angeles County will soon require hospitals within the city’s jurisdiction to report standardized data on financial assistance and debt collection practices, as part of an effort to reduce health-related debt for residents in the region.

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Wednesday, authorizing the county’s Department of Public Health to enforce the law.

Under the ordinance, Public Health will collect standardized data from the 34 acute care hospitals in the city, which county officials say will improve financial assistance programs and identify gaps where eligible patients may not be receiving help.

“Medical debt is crushing working-class families across Los Angeles, and we cannot fix what we refuse to see,” City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez said in a statement. “As the Trump administration slashes healthcare and destabilizes immigrant communities, the pressure on our residents is only getting worse.

“This ordinance allows us to finally collect the data needed to connect Angelenos to real relief — at no cost to the city. A hospital bill should never be the reason a family falls into poverty,” Hernandez said.

Public Health reported that medical debt remains a major public health issue in Los Angeles County. In 2023, more than one in nine adults carried medical debt, totaling more than $2.9 billion. Medical debt disproportionately impacts families with children and communities of color, and can cause housing instability, stress and worse health outcomes.

In 2024, the county Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance to collect similar data in hospitals and medical centers located in the unincorporated areas of the county.

That same year, the county launched a Medical Debt Relief Program, administered by the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt. The program provides financial relief to residents who have been most impacted by medical costs by purchasing qualifying debts from partnered hospitals, health systems and collection agencies for a fraction of their face value.

The Board of Supervisors provided an initial $5 million for the program, which was led by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly Mitchell.

The county aims to erase an estimated $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, representing nearly a quarter of the total $2.9 billion of medical debt held across the county.

“Too many families who qualify for financial assistance never receive it, and the consequences can follow them for years. By strengthening financial assistance systems and using data to close gaps, we can prevent avoidable medical debt before it harms people’s health, housing stability, or economic security. Access to care should not depend on zip code, income, or background,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement.

To date, the debt relief program has resolved more than $363 million in medical debt for more than 171,000 individuals, according to the county.

More information is available at ph.lacounty.gov/preventmedicaldebt.