Are you an Illinois resident? Do you earn less than $60,240 per year? Do you have unpaid medical debt?

If you answered yes, keep an eye on your mailbox.

Last week Governor JB Pritzker’s office announced More than 52,000 Illinois residents will soon learn they no longer owe a collective $72 million in medical debt. This is the first round of leveraging $10 million in federal funds to wipe out up to $1 billion through a contract with a nonprofit company called Undue medical debt.

The company, founded in 2014, said it has helped more than 9.8 million people by erasing more than $14 billion in debt. Through contracts and fundraising, Undue purchases unpaid debts from hospitals, doctor’s offices and collection agencies who have decided they would rather have the negotiated offer on the table than the right to continue to claim the full amount.

Once Undue owns the rights, it determines which people owe what amounts and sends them letters telling them the obligation is covered and their credit reports should reflect the change.

In Illinois, the program only applies to people with income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level (aspe.hhs.gov/poverty). For a family of four, that figure is $146,320. Another way to qualify is to have medical debt equal to or greater than 5% of household income. But the most important factor is whether the vendor originating the debt sells or donates its wallets to Undue.

This is why part of the effort, beyond an initial investment, involves working with the Illinois Health and Hospital Association to encourage collaboration with Undue.

When Capitol News Illinois reported On the program, he cited previous efforts such as Cook County using $12 million from a federal COVID relief stimulus package to ease a $382 million burden on the shoulders of 213,000 people. The county also recently negotiated an agreement with Undue and Loyola Medicine to eliminate $112 million in debt for that system’s patients.

These stories represent good news only under two conditions: first, accept the strategy of mobilizing public resources to directly improve individual economic conditions at the rate of $1 spent for every $1,000 relieved; and second: not focusing too much on the conditions that put millions of people in billions of dollars of debt just by trying to stay healthy.

THE United States Census Bureau A survey of income and program participation found that 15% of U.S. households owe at least $250 in medical bills. from December 2021. The total was at least $220 billion, with about 6% of adults owing more than $1,000 and about 3 million people owing more than $10,000.

Despite the persistence of these conditions, it is easy to understand why politicians pursue this strategy.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. Follow him on @sth749. He can be reached at [email protected].