Los Angeles Medical Debt Rights 2026–27: California's Credit Report Ban, LA County's Debt Relief Letters, and Free Legal Help

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More than $451 million in medical debt has already been wiped out for over 220,000 Los Angeles County residents, according to the LA County Department of Public Health (as of October 2026). Most of those people did nothing to get it. A letter simply arrived saying their debt was gone.

If you live in LA County and still have old medical bills hanging over you, that program is one piece of the picture. California law gives you other strong protections as well: medical debt cannot appear on your credit report, hospitals cannot put a lien on an eligible patient's home, and families earning up to $132,000 a year (for a household of four) are entitled to hospital financial assistance. This guide walks through each protection and tells you who to call.

Protection 1: Medical Debt Cannot Go on Your Credit Report

Senate Bill 1061 took effect January 1, 2025. According to LA County Public Health, it removes medical debt from credit reports and prohibits debt collectors from reporting patients' medical debt information to credit agencies.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a consumer alert stressing that in California it remains illegal for medical debt to appear on credit reports. That holds even after changes at the federal level. The Attorney General's office says medical debt is generally defined in the law as debt owed to a provider of medical services, products or devices.

What to do:

Check your credit reports. You are entitled to a free report from each of the three national credit bureaus at least once a year through annualcreditreport.com.
Look for any medical collection account, including hospital, ambulance, lab or clinic debts.
If you find one, dispute it with the credit bureau and file a complaint with the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.

Protection 2: Hospital Financial Assistance Up to 400% of Poverty

LA County Public Health says all hospitals offer discounts or bill forgiveness based on income. In 2026, a family of four earning less than $132,000 a year will usually qualify, and some hospitals help families who earn more. You can apply before or after you get care.

A second law that took effect January 1, 2025 (described by the county alongside SB 1061) clarifies charity care definitions and eligibility reviews, bans home liens for eligible patients, and removes asset considerations. In other words, a hospital should not deny you because you have savings, and cannot put a lien on your home if you are eligible.

If a hospital denies you, California's Hospital Bill Complaint Program, run by the state Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), takes complaints online or by mail.

Protection 3: LA County's Medical Debt Relief Program

LA County runs a medical debt relief program with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, funded by the county along with L.A. Care Health Plan and the LA County Medical Association. The goal is to buy and retire medical debt for low-income LA County residents.

Who qualifies

According to the county, you must:

Live in Los Angeles County now, and
earn 400% of the federal poverty level or less (for a family of four in 2026, that is $132,000), or have medical bills that are 5% or more of your annual household income, and
have eligible debt: a bill from a participating hospital or other provider in LA County that is past due, and that you are not paying through a payment plan.

The county says the pilot focuses on accounts where billing and collections are finished and the date of service was generally 18 months to 7 or more years ago.

You cannot apply, and that is important

The county is clear: there is no application, and it cannot take requests for help. Participating providers share data with Undue Medical Debt so it can identify who qualifies. If your debt is canceled:

You get a letter in the mail from Undue Medical Debt/County of Los Angeles explaining which debts were erased.
If you get a text, phone call or email instead, it is a scam. Do not pay anyone or share personal information.
If you lose the letter, contact Undue Medical Debt for a replacement. You will need to confirm details such as your name, address or date of birth.

If no letter comes, the county's advice is to remember that if your income is at or below 400% FPL, you are entitled to financial assistance from the hospital, and other laws protect you from unfair billing. Apply directly to the hospital (Protection 2).

District 1 residents: the county notes a separate debt relief program that residents of LA County's First Supervisorial District can apply for. It is run by Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) and funded by the First District.

Protection 4: Free Legal Help if You Are Sued, Garnished or Levied

Never ignore court papers over a medical bill. LA County Public Health lists these free legal resources:

Organization	What it helps with	Phone
NLSLA Health Consumer Center	Free legal services and health care referrals	(800) 896-3202
Bet Tzedek	Free legal services for low-income people with medical debt	(323) 939-0506
Public Counsel	Medical debt collections, lawsuits, wrongful wage garnishment and bank levies, including medical credit cards	(213) 385-2977, ext. 700
Health Consumer Alliance	Statewide help with health insurance and medical debt	(888) 804-3536

The county notes that Public Counsel's capacity may be limited, so check its website first.

Protection 5: Places to Complain or Get Counseling

LA County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA): counselors answer questions about purchases, credit, debt collectors, wage garnishment, liens and levies. Helpline (800) 593-8222.
California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC): to dispute a bill, complain or raise concerns about medical debt or health insurance. Hotline (888) 466-2219.
California Department of Justice: credit-report violations, at oag.ca.gov/report.
HCAI Hospital Bill Complaint Program: wrongful denial of hospital financial assistance.

Stop New Medical Debt Before It Starts

LA County Public Health also points residents to lower-cost care:

Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, provides free or low-cost coverage to people who qualify.
LA County Department of Health Services Get Coverage and Care line: (844) 804-0055.
Federally qualified health centers, which you can find at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.
211LA: free information and referrals in multiple languages. Call 2-1-1 or chat at 211la.org.

A Simple Action Plan

Pull your three credit reports. Dispute any medical debt and report it to oag.ca.gov/report.
List every unpaid medical bill. Write down the provider, the date of service and whether it is in collections.
Apply for hospital financial assistance on every hospital bill if your household is at or below 400% FPL.
Watch your mail for an Undue Medical Debt/County of Los Angeles letter. Treat calls, texts or emails claiming to be from the program as scams.
If you are sued or your wages or bank account are garnished, call one of the legal aid groups above right away.