Medical debt is one of the biggest drawbacks of the current United States economy. Per a report from the National Library of Medicine, 36% of U.S. households had medical debt in 2024. The report also stated that 21% of U.S. homes had a past-due medical bill, and another 23% were paying a medical bill over time to a provider. The pain is real, but relief has come for 97,000 people in Connecticut who just had their medical debt erased.
In June 2026, letters were sent to residents of Connecticut telling them that some or all of their medical debt had been paid off. This miracle fends off the growing trend of people declaring bankruptcy due to unpaid medical debt.
Now, people who otherwise have to choose between paying off their debt or buying necessities are given some much-needed breathing room. Eliminated medical debt means low-income families do not have to fear seeking medical care when it is most needed.
“You have so much money in your pot, so to speak, and you have to divide it amongst different obligations and expenses, and for some, whose out-of-pocket costs for healthcare are so huge, they have to make very difficult decisions,” said Dr. Traci Marquis-Eydman told NBC Connecticut. “We see this in rural America, rural Connecticut, that patients are making those decisions all the time.”
Connecticut’s government was able to provide this financial relief through Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit funded through donors and state funds. Using that money and $6.5 million in state funding they obtained for COVID-19 relief, Undue Medical Debt can purchase past-due medical debt.
How does Undue Medical Debt work?
Because they purchase debt in large batches, Undue Medical Debt can purchase the debt at a deep discount. Their website claims that every dollar donated purchases $100 worth of debt. If this sounds like how collection agencies make their money purchasing debt from hospitals, that’s because it is. The difference is that Undue Medical Debt isn’t trying to profit collecting from folks who cannot pay.
Connecticut isn’t the first state to use Undue Medical Debt to help their citizens. In 2025, over $17 million in medical debt was purchased and wiped clean in Arizona through Undue Medical Debt and the AZ Blue Foundation.
There are some caveats. In order to qualify, medical debt must match 5% or more of your annual income. If not that, then your income must be four times lower than the federal poverty level. Usually, people don’t apply for Undue Medical Debt relief. They will receive a letter in the mail indicating that their debt, whole or in part, has been taken care of.
Does paying off others’ medical debt actually help them?
There are arguments and studies that contradict the idea that this type of medical debt relief is effective. Critics believe that, even though medical debt is paid off, it doesn’t relieve overall financial stress of those in need. There is also the issue of paying off current medical debt and not additional debt that could be accrued. If a person has another medical emergency or is going through ongoing care, the problem can return.
More time, experimentation, legislation, and study needs to be made to see what path is the most ideal for this problem. However, for 97,000 folks in Connecticut, there is one less item to worry about.
