Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that his administration is erasing hundreds of millions in medical debt for around 250,000 eligible residents. Connecticut will be the first state to take action at the state level. Via HuffPost.com:
“This is not something they did because they’re spending too much money. This is something where they got hit with a medical emergency. They should not have to suffer twice,” Lamont told ABC News, which first reported the news.
No one will need to apply for the debt forgiveness. Households will receive letters in the mail if they are eligible — if their medical debt equals 5% or more of their annual income, or if their annual income is under 400% of the federal poverty line, Lamont told CNN Friday. (That’s about $125,000 for a family of 4.)
The governor said that he would spend $6.5 million in federal funding that Connecticut received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The state will then work with a nonprofit that bundles the debt and then purchase it, often for pennies on the dollar.
