Michigan program
Old medical debt cancellation
Some Michigan debt-relief partnerships buy groups of old medical debts and cancel them.
What it is
Some Michigan debt-relief partnerships buy groups of old medical debts and cancel them.
A debt-relief letter can arrive when a partnership buys debt that includes your account. You cannot choose an account for cancellation. This is separate from asking a hospital to reduce a current bill.
Eligibility rules
- Kalamazoo County uses county residence plus income at or below 400% of poverty, or medical debt of at least 5% of annual income.
- Those county criteria are not a statewide application threshold.
What you get
- Cancellation of selected old medical debt, without an application fee.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital or named debt-relief partner to clarify exactly which debt a letter covers.
The charity, working from portfolios of purchased debt · Official page ↗
If a cancellation letter arrives
- There is no fixed schedule for cancellation letters. Selection depends on the debt portfolios purchased.
Good to know
You cannot apply or choose which debt is canceled. A letter about one account does not settle every medical bill.
Other details
- A cancellation program is not a blanket shield from bills, interest, credit reporting or court deadlines. Your counselor can help verify a letter with the named creditor and check which account was canceled. Other debts and deadlines can remain.
- Michigan does not stop a medical bill from reaching your credit report. A legal adviser can check the account before you agree to a payment plan.
Official sources
“Could any old bills be part of a debt-relief partnership? Is there anything useful to check or keep, and what should we understand before relying on a cancellation letter?”
Why I’m asking: I want to distinguish confirmed cancellation from help that may never include our account.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Nothing to do. Keep any letter that arrives.
Your social worker
The county or the state funds the purchase.
The care team
Nothing.
- Who decides
- The charity that buys the debt.
- Ask your social worker
- “Is our hospital’s old debt part of the Michigan medical-debt relief work, and is there anything we should keep?”
How to apply
First step: There is no application to file. A counselor can help verify the sender, creditor and specific debt on a cancellation letter before the family relies on it.
- Keep any cancellation letter that arrives.
- A counselor can verify which debt was canceled and whether any other payment or legal deadline remains.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: There is nothing to file.
What to gather
- Any cancellation letter
- Collection notices
How long: No schedule is published.
What a yes looks like
A letter saying the debt has been cancelled and nothing is owed.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Silence. It is portfolio based, so no letter is not a decision about you.
Watch out
- You cannot apply and you cannot choose which debt is cancelled.
- There is no fixed schedule for the letters.
- Michigan’s July 17, 2025 announcement describes a first round of more than $144 million; it is not a current total or a promise about a particular account.
Dates that change this
2025-07-17: Historical milestone: on July 17, 2025, Michigan announced more than $144 million in a first debt-relief round for nearly 210,000 people, naming Wayne, Oakland and Kalamazoo partnerships. The $4.5 million appropriation is distinct from canceled balances; the current cumulative total and every individual account remain separate questions. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Blocks of medical debt bought and cancelled. In Kalamazoo County the criteria are 400% of the poverty level or debt of at least 5% of income.
- $400 — Kalamazoo County income criterion, alternative to the debt-burden test
- $5 — Kalamazoo County debt-burden alternative, share of annual income
- $4,500,000 — State pilot appropriation, not debt already cancelled
Legal protection: A cancelled debt is gone: nothing is owed and no tax is due on it
What it costs the family: None. There is nothing to apply for.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Note
- Portfolio based; no individual application. Kalamazoo County publishes county residence plus 400% of the poverty level or debt of at least 5% of annual income.
The trap: You cannot apply, and you cannot pick which bill is cancelled. It is bought as a portfolio. Kalamazoo County says there is no fixed schedule for the letters.
Where I read this
- MDHHS: Medical Debt Relief Program report, September 1, 2024 — MDHHS, read September 10, 2026
- Undue Medical Debt: Government partnerships — Undue Medical Debt, read September 10, 2026
- Kalamazoo County: Undue Medical Debt Relief Program — Kalamazoo County, read September 10, 2026