Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that the state will first use $6.5 million in coronavirus relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to waive about $1 billion in health care costs.
“It’s a debt you can’t control,” Lamont said. CNN. “We’re not wasting it. We’re going to have a medical catastrophe.”
Eligible residents are those with medical debt of 5% or more of their annual income or whose household income is below 400% of the federal poverty line, or about $125,000 in 2024.
Additionally, eligible residents do not need to apply and will be notified by email that their debt has been forgiven as soon as this summer. More than one in ten Connecticut residents collect medical debt.
In addition to Connecticut, other states have announced plans to cancel medical debt. New Jersey, for example, included $10 million in its latest budget to fund a pilot program to erase residents’ medical debt. Gov. Phil Murphy said in his State of the State address last month that he called on the state Legislature to expand efforts in the next budget.
“Every dollar invested can pay off up to $100 in debt for tens of thousands of people,” Murphy said.
Meanwhile, New York City announced last month that it would eliminate more than $2 million in medical debt for up to 500,000 residents over the next three years.
RIP Medical Debt CEO Alison Sesso said about 30 governments work with the nonprofit organization. She added that her charity buys from hospitals and other health care providers for pennies on the dollar, which mimics the deals that for-profit debt collectors are happy to score.
At the same time, Sesso pointed out that the initiative does not guarantee that an individual’s medical debt will be completely wiped out.
a KFF analysis U.S. adults carry at least $195 billion in medical debt, according to 2020 Census Bureau data. The data also revealed that nearly 1 in 10 Americans have medical debt of more than $250, with Black Americans and middle-aged residents being more affected by this issue. .
Meanwhile, a 2023 analysis by Third Way, a center-left think tank, found that the middle class is most affected by unpaid medical bills.
Image credit: ©Getty Images/Andrey Popov
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributor to Christian Headlines and host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast dedicated to sound doctrine and Biblical truth. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary.
Listen: Prayer for continued generosity in the new year
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.
Video: 7 budget trips you can take this year
With a little ingenuity and a sense of adventure, you can still have a great vacation for little or no money.here it is 7 trips you can take on a budget this year.
