Three cheers to Meghan Markle for sitting out of the Royal Family’s meeting with Trump.

Regardless of how well or poorly the overall economy is doing, many Americans are saddled with crushing medical debt. Such debt can hold people in a dangerous place: they can’t prosper or build wealth because they’re too deep in the hole, and they might make their health worse by forgoing necessary care in order to save. However, one million residents in Illinois are breathing a sigh of relief knowing their medical debt has been paid for.

Partnering with officials in Cook County and Undue Medical Debt, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker worked on the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program based on a Cook County Medical Debt Relief Initiative. The patients needn’t apply for the relief initiative; they just had to be Illinois residents with a household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. They could still qualify if they had medical debts equal or more than 5% of their annual household income. If qualified, the resident would receive a confirmation letter that their debt had been paid.

Debt today, gone tomorrow

“In Illinois, we believe healthcare is a human right—and affordability is central to that promise,” Lieutenant Gov. Juliana Stratton said in a press release. “No one should ever delay care because of cost or face financial ruin simply because they got sick. The Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program is about lifting that burden, strengthening families, and ensuring every Illinoisan can seek the care they need. When we make healthcare more affordable, we build healthier and stronger communities.” 

“Combined with our partners here in Cook County, who have erased $1.5 billion, we have delivered more than $2 billion in relief to over a million Illinoisans in all 102 counties of our state, with an average elimination across the state of $1,200 per patient,” Pritzker told The Center Square.

Another state collaboration with Undue Medical Debt

If this story sounds familiar, GOOD recently covered the state of Connecticut partnering with Undue Medical Debt in a similar fashion. To put it simply, the strategy UMD and their partners use is to purchase medical debt from bill collectors. They bundle and purchase the debt for a discount and, since they are buying so much debt at once, they’re typically able to negotiate a good deal. This means that they’re able to purchase most debt for pennies on the dollar.

It’s not without critics

While this has been bringing relief to many folks, there are still critics. A 2024 National Bureau of Economic Research study found that medical debt erasure didn’t improve the recipients’ overall financial well-being. While no longer having medical debt relieves a burden, it doesn’t automatically raise a person’s wages, assist housing needs, etc. 

They also argue that having medical debt relieved wouldn’t improve a person’s access to healthcare. A patient may accrue new, additional debt because of ongoing care. A person may also still avoid getting necessary care to avoid a new bill.

It will be interesting to see if this version of medical debt relief becomes even more common or if different solutions are inspired from it.