On Sunday's show, Oliver addressed the debt-buying industry and "zombie debt," or "debt that was believed to be settled and buried but comes back to life for collection," according to Time.

The Consumerist reports that debt-collection agencies can buy this debt for pennies on the dollar and make their money by getting just a few debtors to pay. Seventeen states don't even require licenses for debt collection, the website says.

Instead, he had the portfolio sent to a nonprofit that forgives medical debt.

Read more here or here.

About the Author

Featured

Carleigh Knight (left) and her sister, Natalie Rogovin, look at Christmas ornaments while shopping at Kudzu Antiques + Modern in Decatur on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller