Last year, the Urban County Council opted to partner with the national nonprofit, which purchases medical debt from hospitals and debt collectors at a discount and pays off that debt for individuals it identifies as experiencing hardship.
The council put $1 million toward the effort. And since, city officials report more than $18 million worth of medical debt has been or will soon be abolished.
The second round, announced this week, will see nearly 3,200 residents receiving notifications through the mail in the coming weeks telling them the debt has been wiped out.
Undue Medical Debt is not a program residents can apply for. Instead, the group makes that determination. Those eligible must be residents of Fayette County and have income of up to 400% of federal poverty guidelines or medical debt equal to 5% or more of their annual income.
More information is at lexingtonky.gov/medicaldebtrelief.