More than 140,000 Massachusetts residents have medical debt that has been partially paid or eliminated by a nonprofit that will settle more than $100 million in unpaid medical bills.
Atrius Health Equity Foundation is partnering with the Medical Debt Relief and Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association to resolve $170 million in unpaid medical debt in the Bay State, reports The sun.
According to these organizations, letters started arriving in mailboxes around July 7, informing eligible people that some or all of their medical bills will be paid.
The project is the largest medical debt settlement project ever undertaken in Massachusetts.
Individual loan forgiveness ranges from about $50 to $450,000, and recipients do not need to submit an application or do any additional work to receive the assistance.
The agencies said they have identified eligible candidates using financial methods instead of applying.
The program focuses primarily on low-income and minority populations in Eastern Massachusetts.
Eligibility includes people with a household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, which is $63,840 for a single person or $132,000 for a family of four. The service also included people with medical debt equal to 5% of their annual income.
About 85% of those who receive help live in Essex and Middlesex counties, and the average debt settlement is $1,227.
Said Dr. Ann Hwang, president of the Atrius Health Equity Foundation, says Dr.
“Our goal at the Foundation is to help close the gap in life expectancy in Eastern Massachusetts, and the medical debt that keeps people from getting the care they need.”
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