North Carolina has hit a milestone in healthcare by eliminating over $6.5 billion in medical debt, impacting around 2.5 million residents, as announced by Governor Josh Stein and NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. This massive debt relief effort comes courtesy of the state-run Medical Debt Relief Program, and according to a press release from the Governor's office, North Carolinians have already begun receiving notifications of their newfound financial relief.
"Medical debt is a tremendous weight keeping so many families from financial security, and, unlike most other forms of debt, it’s not a choice," Governor Josh Stein stated. The success of this initiative has surpassed the initial projections made when the program was launched in July 2024. Medical debt, often an unplanned and unwieldy expense, has been cited as a barrier to financial freedom and access to necessary health services for many families across the state, as noted by the same press release.
The program's expansion and effectiveness hinged on the participation of all 99 acute care hospitals in the state. A stipulation of the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP), which went into effect concurrently with Medicaid expansion, tied hospital payments to their adoption of medical debt relief measures for qualifying individuals.
Undue Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso lauded the collective efforts, “We’re honored to play a part in this innovative approach to erasing unpayable medical debts while also incentivizing upstream, pro-patient policies. These changes will protect against financially and emotionally burdensome medical debts in the future while also ensuring our vital hospital partners are financially secure,” Sesso emphasized, as per the Governor's office.
Residents eligible for the debt relief have been informed via letters and have been advised to visit the NCDHHS website for further details on the program.
