97,000 people opened a letter saying their medical debt is gone

A nonprofit called Undue Medical Debt has wiped out roughly $6.5 million in unpaid hospital bills for 97,000 residents of Connecticut. The relief came through a state program that paired leftover COVID-19 funds with donations raised by the organization, the fourth round of its kind. To qualify, residents had to owe medical debt worth 5% or more of their annual income, or earn at or below the federal poverty level. No one applied. No one filled out a form. The group buys overdue debts for pennies on the dollar, then chooses which to erase at random, partly to avoid any hint of favoritism. Recipients simply get a letter in the mail explaining that the bill is gone. "I want to make sure that folks are able to feel comfortable that they can go to the doctor and not have to worry about that medical debt as much as they might have before," said Rep. Kevin Brown of Vernon. The program runs through the end of the year.