Nearly $80 million of debt is being relieved in the first round of a program that has the potential to abolish nearly $1 billion in medical debt, according to a May 10 Cook County news release.
The program uses $12 million in COVID-19 debt relief funds. Those eligible to have debt relieved are residents who have a household income less than four times the federal poverty level, or have medical debts that are 5 percent or more of their annual income.
