How did a former health official successfully cancel $700 million in medical debt for everyday citizens?

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He did it by launching a public medical-debt relief program that used a small amount of public money to buy old hospital bills at a steep discount and then forgive them. As Wayne County health director, Abdul El-Sayed helped the county partner with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, which specializes in purchasing bundled medical debt from hospitals and other providers for pennies on the dollar. Because medical debt often sells very cheaply on secondary markets, a few million dollars can retire far larger face-value amounts of debt. In Wayne County, officials approved about $7 million for a program aimed at wiping out up to $700 million in debt for roughly 300,000 residents. The debt relief was targeted at people least able to pay, generally those earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level or whose medical debt equaled at least 5% of annual income. Eligible residents did not apply; once debt was purchased and canceled, they were notified by mail. The important caveat is that El-Sayed did not personally or immediately erase the full $700 million. That figure was the program’s authorized goal. Reporting from Bridge Michigan and the Detroit Free Press found that, as of mid-2026, Wayne County had actually eliminated about $57 million in medical debt for more than 83,000 residents, with additional purchases still being negotiated. So the mechanism was real and effective: use public funds plus a nonprofit partner to buy debt cheaply and cancel it. But the full $700 million rem…

Abdul El-Sayed Runs for Michigan Senate on Medicare for All, Anti-Israel Platform

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Abdul El-Sayed Runs for Michigan Senate on Medicare for All, Anti-Israel Platform

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