The nation’s largest buyer of overdue medical debts has yet again relieved the burden of past hospital expenses for thousands of Americans.
Having worked with state governments in Arizona and Maine, Undue Medical Debt (UMD) has now eliminated some $6.5 million in unpaid medical bills for 97,000 residents of Connecticut.
It’s thanks to a program set up by the state that paired leftover money from a COVID-19 relief package with money raised by Undue Medical Debt through donations, and is the fourth-such round of this debt relief.
To qualify, Connecticuters must either owe medical debt worth 5% or more of their annual income, or their income must be or below at the federal poverty level.
This is exactly the program that Arizona already ran for its residents with the help of UMD, one which saw 352,000 Arizonans received a letter in the mail explaining how their debts had been paid off for pennies on the dollar—one can only imagine the relief.
No one need apply—or take any action for that matter. As GNN has reported before, UMD has a thoroughly random and indiscriminate way of choosing which debts to erase, ensuring no favoritism.
It’s all down to how the concept of wiping out medical debt came about.
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A hospital may have a claim on someone’s money for care already provided, and even if it’s worth $100,000, if the patient can’t pay it back in anything other than tiny installments it suddenly begins to look quite worthless to a hospital administrator.
The hospital could take legal action, but there’s no guarantee they would collect, and it’s expensive to pay the legal fees resulting. So Undue Medical Debt comes into the picture and offers $5,000 in immediate cash payments to take that claim off their hands—essentially buying the debt for pennies on the dollar.
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The hospital gets to balance its books, and everyone gets to feel better about themselves.
The program is expected to continue through the end of the year.
“I was happy to have supported the legislation a few years ago,” Rep. Kevin Brown (D), Vernon, told NBC News local affiliate. “I’m glad that the governor is continuing to commit to this. 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.”
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