An effort to erase medical debt is coming to a close – exceeding expectations for the number of residents assisted but leaving about $1 million Cleveland City Council allocated unspent.
Council members announced today that the program benefited 161,481 Clevelanders, thousands more than originally predicted. That’s about 40% of the city’s population.
The effort follows City Council’s decision in 2023 to set aside $1.9 million in federal COVID-19 relief money to cancel medical debt by partnering with a national nonprofit called RIP Medical Debt. The organization has since been renamed Undue Medical Debt.
The nonprofit uses that money to buy up bundles of past-due medical bills from local hospitals or…
