Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is proposing to wipe out $4 billion of medical debt for state residents over the next four years.
The governor pitched the plan in his fiscal year 2025 budget, released Feb. 21. For the upcoming fiscal year, Mr. Pritzker is proposing $10 million be appropriated to partner with RIP Medical Debt to relieve nearly $1 billion in medical debt for 340,000 state residents.
In the news release announcing the budget proposal, Mr. Pritzker noted the medical debt relief work already being done in the state in Cook County. The county is using $12 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to relieve more than $1 billion in medical debt.
"It's also time to help those who have suffered financial harm, often through no fault of their own, from past failures of a broken health insurance and healthcare billing system," Mr. Prtizker said in the release. "Treating a health emergency is not an optional expense. But too many Illinoisans have had their credit ruined or have been pushed into bankruptcy when they had one unexpected accident or one prolonged illness."