Greenville, N.C. – ECU Health and the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt are pleased to announce an initiative that will help eliminate more than $186 million worth of past-due hospital medical debt for more than 32,000 qualifying patients. Debt relief letters will arrive over the course of December’s holiday season into the New Year on a rolling basis given the size of this relief effort
Eligible community members do not need to apply, and there is no application process. Instead, community members who qualify for this one-time debt relief will receive a branded letter from Undue Medical Debt indicating which past-due hospital debt or debts have been eliminated. Undue Medical Debt works with hospital systems and other providers across the country to purchase past due medical debt belonging to those least able to pay in large portfolios for pennies or less on the dollar and then erases the debt.
ECU Health’s collaboration with Undue Medical Debt pre-dates North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ medical debt relief initiative which spans all hospitals in the state and lays out a plan for medical debt relief coupled with changes to Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement policy and financial aid standards in 2025.
Under Undue Medical Debt guidelines, those who qualify for this medical debt relief have hospital medical debts that are 5% or more than their annual income or earn at or below four times poverty-level income. The current federal poverty level is an annual income of under $31,200 for a family of four which means a qualifying family of four would make under $124,800. Community members do not need to take any action, as the eligible hospital medical debt will automatically be eliminated for those who qualify.
“We’re grateful to collaborate with ECU Health to help ease the burden of medical debt in eastern North Carolina,” said Undue Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso. “Helping community members burdened by medical debt takes thoughtful collaboration and I’m proud of the results: over 30,000 people helped this holiday season. We hope this program provides financial and emotional relief to recipients and encourages them to continue engaging with the healthcare system.”
The collaboration with Undue Medical Debt is one of many ways in which ECU Health is living its mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. The initiative aligns with the health system’s commitment to serving underserved communities in the East, many of which have disproportionate numbers of low-income and uninsured or underinsured people. The initiative is also in alignment with ECU Health’s long-standing practice of non-predatory billing practices, which emphasize charity care, zero-interest payment plans, transparent pricing and dedicated resources to help patients navigate financial requirements.
“At ECU Health, our commitment to our mission and patients is at the heart of all we do,” said ECU Health Chief Operating Officer Brian Floyd. “We have always been guided by a deep desire to support our patients in whatever way we can, and this collaboration with Undue Medical Debt will make an enormous impact on so many in our largely underserved region. We could not be more thankful to find an organization like Undue Medical Debt which shares our vision for making high-quality rural health care accessible here in eastern North Carolina.”