If you get a letter in the mail in the next week or so that says some or all of your medical debt has been erased, it’s part of a state initiative.
Gov. Ned Lamont said letters are being mailed to more than 100,000 Connecticut residents this week.
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WATCH HEREThe state partnered with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt and this is part of the second round of the initiative.
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SIGN UP There is no application process for this relief and you cannot request it.
To be eligible, Connecticut patients must have income at or below four times the federal poverty level or have medical debt that is 5% or more of their income.
The governor’s office said that the current federal poverty level is an annual income at or below $32,150 for a family of four.
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The governor’s office said legislation has been enacted that makes $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding available for this initiative.
In this second round, the state invested $575,000 and the governor’s office said Undue Medical Debt was able to negotiate to acquire and eliminate more than $100 million in medical debt.
During the first round in December, around $30 million in medical debt was eliminated for 23,000 of the state’s residents.
Those who have been identified for relief will receive a letter from Undue Medical Debt in the mail over the next several days, the governor’s office said.
“Medical debt causes additional anxiety and stress when individuals and families are coping with potentially life-threatening health situations,” Lamont said in a statement. “Over the next few days, more than 100,000 Connecticut residents who have been struggling to pay their medical bills will feel relief when they receive letters in the mail notifying them that their debt has been erased. I am hopeful that additional medical partners will soon sign onto this program to help more Connecticut families through further rounds of this initiative.”
Lamont said he intends to continue partnering with Undue Medical Debt for more rounds of medical debt cancellation.
