The city of Cincinnati is relieving medical debt. Are you eligible?

If you're one of 34,000 Cincinnatians whose medical debt will be eliminated by the city, your relief letter could arrive as early as next month, according to an announcement from Mayor Aftab Pureval today.

The city of Cincinnati has allocated $1.45 million in city funds toward relieving medical debt, in a program the city launched in collaboration with UC Health and Undue Medical Debt , a national nonprofit that eliminates medical debt for families in need.

"When someone is burdened by that kind of debt, that not only negatively affects their decisions to seek future healthcare that they need, but it makes any kind of financial empowerment that much harder to fathom," said Pureval.

Pureval referred to medical debt as "one of the most significant barriers our residents face" and cited a 2023 survey that found that one in three Cincinnatians was affected by medical debt, while one in 10 could not afford their prescription drugs.

"So many of us are one unexpected issue away from juggling the burden of expensive medical bills," added city manager Sheryl Long. "We are here to help."

Am I eligible?

City residents who earn under 400% of the federal poverty line − or less than $124,800 for a family of four − are eligible for the program. Since this requirement was established by the city, there is no sign-up process.

Program recipients can expect to receive a letter in the mail from Undue Medical Debt that will inform them that their debt was eliminated. The envelope will also contain a picture of the mayor and directions for how to access services such as assistance with signing up for Medicaid, food pantries, and free tax preparation.

The average value of relief ranged between $1,000 and $2,000 per person, according to Ruth Landé, vice president of provider relations at Undue Medical Debt.

Undue Medical Debt will also be partnering with other healthcare providers in the Cincinnati area to be revealed at a later date, according to Landé.

How does medical debt relief work?

The City of Cincinnati contributed $1.45 million towards the effort, but the value of debt relieved is much larger than that, with the city dollars expected to translate to $130 million. How does that work?

"I know sometimes it seems like magic," said Landé. "We take donated dollars, or in this case, city dollars, to buy large portfolios of unpaid medical bills that we get from providers at a fraction of the face value."

In other words, Undue Medical Debt will use the $1.45 million in city dollars to purchase medical debt from UC Health, Undue Medical Debt's first partner in the region.

The hospital will sell the medical debt to the nonprofit at a discounted price, an approach that has allowed the nonprofit to abolish over $13 billion in medical debt nationally.

Why UC Health is participating

If Undue Medical Debt is purchasing debt from UC Health at a fraction of its original cost, what does that mean for UC Health?

Katrina English, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at UC Health, called the transaction an "advantage."

This is because the medical debt is held by patients who, at under 400% of the federal poverty line, would not have been able to pay their bills anyway.

"What we are able to receive, even though it's pennies on the dollar from Undue Medical Debt, enables us to continue to provide additional care for those who are underserved in our community," English said. "It's definitely an advantage that I wouldn't consider necessarily a profit."

Fully disbursing the funds is expected to take 18 months, according to Mayor Pureval.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The city of Cincinnati is relieving medical debt. Are you eligible?