(NPR) – Underscoring the massive scale of America’s medical debt problem, a nonprofit has struck a deal to pay off old medical bills for an estimated 20 million people.

New York-based Undue Medical Debt, which buys patient debt, is paying off $30 billion worth of unpaid bills in a single transaction with Pendrick Capital Partners, a Virginia-based debt trading company. The average patient debt being retired is $1,100, according to Undue Medical Debt, with some reaching the hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Read More)