Jen Mattingly opened an envelope expecting another bill. Instead, the letter told her that $2,953.06 in medical debt had simply vanished. She said she cried right there, reading it.
The debt, canceled by a nonprofit called Undue Medical Debt, represented what Mattingly estimated was at least two emergency room visits, according to Tampa Bay 28. Mattingly works in social services and said her job never gave her the means to pay off that kind of money. She had considered bankruptcy before the letter arrived.
Blood Clots, a Pandemic Decline and a Pile of Bills
Mattingly said her health took a turn during the pandemic, and repeated hospital visits eventually led doctors to discover blood clots in her lungs along with a blood-clotting disease. The bills piled up fast after that. She said she ended up with thousands of dollars in charges from doctors and did not understand why so many of her claims were denied, watching the total climb into the tens of thousands and feeling overwhelmed by it.
“I opened the letter and I cried,” Mattingly said, according to the station's report. She described the debt relief as feeling like a miracle, a word that captures just how unexpected the news was after years of financial strain tied to her illness.
How a Nonprofit Buys and Cancels Medical Debt
Undue Medical Debt did not reach out to Mattingly because she asked for help. The nonprofit does not take individual requests for debt relief at all. Instead, the organization uses donations to purchase large bundles of medical debt at steep discounts, then relieves it for people experiencing financial hardship rather than collecting on it, the outlet's report notes.
Undue Medical Debt says each $1 donated relieves an average of $100 in medical debt, and the group bought and canceled Mattingly's balance using a donation from national partners. The organization describes the relief as a no-strings-attached gift that carries no future payment obligation or income taxes, per the same account. On its FAQ page, Undue Medical Debt says people generally qualify if they earn at or below 400% of the federal poverty level or carry medical debt exceeding 5% of their income, and it states plainly that it never collects on the debt it purchases, only relieves it.
A System Allison Sesso Calls Broken
Allison Sesso, Undue Medical Debt's president and CEO, said the nonprofit's mission goes beyond individual relief. She told Tampa Bay 28 the organization aims not only to eliminate debt but also to draw attention to broader problems within the health care system. “This is a systems problem,” Sesso said.
That framing lines up with national numbers. Nearly one in three working-age adults with private insurance, 32%, are paying off medical bills or debt over time, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Among those with medical debt, 37% used all or part of their savings to cover bills, 30% delayed or avoided needed care, and 30% cut back on basic necessities, the same research found. A 2022 KFF News and NPR investigation, cited by WBUR, had already put the scale of the problem at up to 100 million Americans, or 41% of adults, carrying unpaid medical bills.
Similar Relief Programs Spreading Elsewhere
Mattingly's case is part of a pattern playing out well beyond Florida. Orange County, in partnership with Undue Medical Debt, recently eliminated another $43 million in medical debt for 42,000 residents in a third wave of relief, bringing its total to $559 million erased for 345,000 county residents, according to Orange County's newsroom. Like Undue Medical Debt itself, that program does not accept applications; eligible debt is identified through partnerships with hospitals, health care providers and debt collectors.
In Arizona, Brittany Gurney saw her share of her son's $2 million hospital bill, $15,000 she could not repay, forgiven through a partnership between the state and Undue Medical Debt, WBUR reported. Kentucky has announced plans to spend $2.5 million to cancel medical debt for 130,000 people, and Michigan recently announced a third round of relief expected to erase more than $21 million for nearly 10,000 residents, according to a release from Governor Whitmer's office.
What People Should Know If a Collector Calls
Not everyone will get a letter like Mattingly's, and federal agencies have laid out guidance for people still facing active medical debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises consumers to avoid paying medical charges with a credit card or other loan when possible, and instead try working out a payment plan directly with the provider or collector. The agency also notes that debt collectors must follow federal law and cannot collect amounts that are not actually owed or use harassing tactics.
Questions also tend to arise about whether canceled debt counts as taxable income. The Internal Revenue Service says that, in most cases, canceled debt is not treated as income when it is forgiven as a gift, bequest, devise or inheritance, per IRS guidance. Undue Medical Debt also provides its own resources and tips for people seeking help on its website, separate from the agency's formal rules.
