https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/connecticut-canceling-medical-debt/story?id=106878814
feb 2 2024 Connecticut will become the first state to cancel medical debt for eligible residents, Gov. Ned Lamont announced exclusively Friday on "Good Morning America."
The state plans to erase approximately $1 billion in medical debt this year by leveraging $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, it said.
The state said it is contracting with a nonprofit organization that buys medical debt and eliminates it at a reduced cost.
Residents whose household income is up to 400% of the federal poverty line (for a family of four, that's $156,000 annually) or whose medical debt equates to 5% or more of their annual income will be eligible under the program, the state said.
Some 250,000 residents are anticipated to see their medical debt erased with this initial $6.5 million investment, the state said.
Those more likely to report significant medical debt included people living with a disability, uninsured adults, low-income adults and Black Americans, the report found.
