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Governor Ned Lamont announced in a press briefing on December 16, 2024, that nearly 23,000 Connecticut residents who have medical debt will have some or all of that debt erased under an initiative his administration launched through a partnership with the national nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt.
In the first round, the Lamont administration invested approximately $100,000 from the state’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, and Undue Medical Debt negotiated with a collections agency and a national provider to acquire approximately $30 million in qualifying medical debt for Connecticut residents.
Governor Lamont said that his administration intends on continuing to partner with Undue Medical Debt to enact further rounds of medical debt elimination. Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly agreed to make $6.5 million in ARPA funding available for this initiative.
State Sen. Rob Sampson blasted Gov. Ned Lamont’s selective taxpayer-funded medical debt bailout:
“Governor Lamont strikes again—using your tax dollars to selectively bail out medical debt for some, while others are left behind. How about personal responsibility instead of pandering? Big government created this mess; now they want you to pay for it,” he said.
Residents don't have to apply for this program.
The folks at Undue Medical Debt make the decisions on which debts get paid.
"The stories we share, and debts we erase, highlight and reckon with the racial injustice built into the healthcare system," says Undue Medical Debt's website.
Undue Medical Debt promises that "diversity, equity, and inclusion are central" to their debt abolishment work and has fully committed "to being an active participant in addressing equity."
Undue Medical Debt even promises to hold partners accountable to the same commitment on equity.
But that shouldn't be a problem for Lamont and the State of Connecticut, especially considering the recent appointment of a Chief DEI Officer.
