NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans-based system of hospitals and clinics serving Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama is working with a New York nonprofit to wipe out $366 million in medical debt for about 193,000 needy patients.
The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported Wednesday that the deal involving Ochsner Health was arranged by Undue Medical Debt, a donor-funded organization that negotiates with hospitals, doctors’ offices, and ambulance services to purchase and erase the outstanding medical debt of those least able to afford it.
Ochsner is the largest health system in Louisiana and has 46 hospitals, 370 clinics, and urgent care in the three states it serves.
“Ochsner is proud to have worked with Undue Medical Debt to enable the organization to acquire and cancel past one-time debts for eligible residents,” the company said in a statement.
The deal followed a Monday announcement of an agreement between Ochsner, Undue Medical Debt, and New Orleans to wipe out more than $59 million in medical debt for about 66,000 patients in that city.