Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants $40 million in taxpayer funds over four years to pick up the tab for hundreds of thousands of individuals’ medical debt.
Pritzker called medical debt a “uniquely American issue.”
However, a study released this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that while there is a statistical significant reduction in payment of existing medical debt, there is “no impact … on credit access, utilization, and financial distress on average,” and “no effect … on mental health on average.”
State Rep. Dan Caulkins said it may sound like a good idea, but the legislature must balance priorities.
Pritzker’s plan would have a national nonprofit liquidate the debt, promising one penny of taxpayer funds to buy back and eliminate every one dollar of medical debt.
Story from Illinois Radio Network
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