ILLINOIS (25News Now) – One year since it was implemented, the state Medical Debt Relief Program has helped erase bills for more than 355,000 people in Illinois.
According to State Rep. Sharon Chung’s (D-Normal) office, the program was passed last year to relieve people of medical debt at pennies on the dollar. In total, the program has erased $430 million of debt.
Those who lived alone and made up to $62,600 annually, and families of up to four that brought in up to $128,600 annually, had their debt automatically erased.
Additionally, the average debt erased for one person was $1,100. The highest amount of debt relieved for an individual was $300,000.
“The burden of substantial medical debt can stay with working families for years,…