Governor Phil Murphy announced that in partnership with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt (Undue), the State is delivering a fifth round of medical debt relief, impacting over 48,000 New Jersey residents who owed a combined $59 million in medical bills.
By leveraging approximately $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds from the State’s investment in medical debt abolishment, Undue has purchased this debt. Those impacted should receive a letter from Undue in the coming days.
The State has also advanced protections to safeguard New Jerseyans from falling into medical debt, including the prohibition of credit reporting for most medical debts, along with additional consumer-focused policies such as caps on out-of-pocket costs for insulin and asthma inhalers, innovative reforms promoting transparency in the pharmaceutical supply chain, and necessary oversight of pharmaceutical benefits management companies.
The only criteria to qualify for medical debt relief are individuals who are either at or below 400% of the federal poverty line or have medical debts that equal 5% or more of their annual income. Undue will also be sending a letter to those who may benefit from medical debt relief.
Contact: Erin Knoedler, Legislative Analyst, eknoedler@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x116.