$100M in medical debt to be eliminated for thousands of New Jerseyans

NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Phil Murphy says $100 million in medical debt will be eliminated for tens of thousands of people.

This is life-changing news for more than 50,000 residents, according to Laura Waddell with New Jersey Citizen Action. But she says there are many more who need help, too, as people with medical debts often don’t seek care when it’s needed.

“There are 1.5 million New Jerseyans who are struggling with medical debt,” Waddell said. “We definitely need to do more with making health care more affordable and more accessible.”

Under this plan, those meeting the income and debt criteria will have their balances wiped out: $62 million will settle debts held by Prime Health Care, which operates facilities in North Jersey, and $38 million will go towards other various medical groups and collections agencies.

Murphy says nobody should have to scrimp and save to ensure their basic health needs are met, and New Jersey is one of only five states providing money to settle medical debt as well as laws to prevent outstanding medical debts from affecting someone’s credit score.