More than $220M in Illinois medical debt erased in latest round of relief

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Nearly 170,000 Illinois residents will have their medical debt erased, part of the latest round of relief totaling $220 million.

In total, the Medical Debt Relief Program has abolished more than $345 million for nearly 270,000 since the program began.

“We started this program with a simple premise: in a healthy and functioning society, no one should be in financial ruin simply because they get sick,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “This program makes a major impact on the lives of the most vulnerable Illinoisans while also maintaining our commitment to fiscal responsibility with a fantastic return on investment—the gold standard for this kind of work.”

The Department of Healthcare and Family Services partners with Undue Medical Debt, a national charity, to administer the program.

The initiative was launched in 2024 with the goal of erasing $1 billion of medical debt over several years.

The program targets residents with a household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, or those whose medical debt is at or exceeds 5% of their household income.

For each dollar spent on medical debt buyback, the relief program erases approximately $170 in medical debt for patients.

So far, the state has spent $2 million on the program, with a $15 million appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

According to the Governor’s Office, “Medical debt disproportionately affects people of color—Black Illinoisans are 50% more likely to accrue medical debt than their white peers.”

The program has partnered with hospitals throughout the state to provide medical debt relief for their patience.