Raleigh (July 1, 2024) – The North Carolina Justice Center applauds Governor Cooper and North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services Cody Kinsley for announcing a groundbreaking initiative to forgive up to 10 years of medical debt for North Carolinians living at or below 350% of the federal poverty level.
We urge all North Carolina hospitals to adopt this plan without delay once it is approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medical debt is a pervasive issue in North Carolina, with the state having the fourth highest percentage of people involved in medical debt collection among all states. Medical debt affects insured and uninsured patients alike because of high out-of-pocket costs, often causing people to seek care and leading to poor health.
This new initiative will help alleviate this widespread problem by leveraging federal funds and increasing payments to hospitals without requiring new state funding, but hospitals must commit to adopting certain measures aimed at forgiving medical debt and providing financial assistance to those in need. If all hospitals choose to participate, 2 million North Carolinians could be relieved of $4 billion in medical debt.
“This is an innovative and groundbreaking step in reducing the damage that medical debt is causing to North Carolina families,” said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the NC Justice Center. “We are committed to continuing to fight for additional protections so that all North Carolinians can have peace of mind that they can access affordable, quality health care without being burdened with catastrophic medical debt.”
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