$1B in medical debt could be wiped for Illinoisans under proposed statewide program

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois could see their medical debt eliminated.

It’s part of a plan Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Illinois) unveiled in his budget address in February.

“Too many patients leave hospitals with their credit ruined or at risk of bankruptcy in the ensuing months often through no fault of their own, all because our health insurance and our healthcare billing systems are a little bit broken,” Pritzker said in a press conference Monday.

About 100 million people across the country are burdened with medical debt. In Illinois, around 14 percent of the state’s population has medical debt in collections.

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“The stress and strain of mounting medical debt on top of a healthcare challenge can significantly and adversely affect an individual’s overall financial well being, increasing their likelihood of bankruptcy, and even make them reconsider seeking future medical care,” Lizzy Whitehorn, the director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, said.

A plan included in the proposed budget aims to tackle those expensive medical bills. For the upcoming fiscal year, the proposed budget would set aside $10 million to get rid of $1 billion in medical debt for nearly 340,000 low income people.

It would be part of a four year plan to wipe $4 billion in medical debt for more than one million people in Illinois. As part of the plan, the state will work with Undue Medical Debt, a nonprofit focused on ending medical debt.

“Households with health insurance, and even middle income struggle underneath the weight of medical debt,” Audra Wilson, the president and CEO of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, said. “It is crushing, it is massive, and that is why this initiative is so significant.”

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A program like the one the governor proposed in his budget is already in place in Cook County. They’ve been able to get rid of nearly $350 million in medical debt for about 200,000 people.

“By providing relief to our residents, we’re lifting a heavy burden,” Tony Preckwinkle, the Cook County board president, said. “Family’s finances and futures are changed by giving people a chance to clear up their debts.”

That’s not the only initiative that could help people. A bill that unanimously passed in the Senate Thursday would ban consumer reporting agencies from including adverse information about someone on their credit report when it comes to their medical debt.

“You shouldn’t have your credit score lowered because of an unexpected illness or injury,” State Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) said. “It’s just not fair and I think medical debt has shown that it’s not a good indicator of one’s ability to pay bills or credit worthiness.”

The proposal is now in the House for further consideration.

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