Orange County commissioners on Tuesday approved additional funding for a first-of-its-kind program in Central Florida to eliminate medical debt for local residents.
Since 2024, the county has leveraged $4.5 million in federal dollars received under the American Rescue Plan Act to eliminate over $637 million in medical debt — one of the leading causes of bankruptcy — for more than 427,000 Orange County residents.
A recent study published by the Urban Institute found that nearly half (46 percent) of U.S. adults aged 18 to 64 struggled to afford healthcare in 2025, including adults with and without health insurance.
The debt relief was made possible through a partnership with Undue Medical Debt, a…