Arizona Using Covid Relief Funds To Cancel Medical Debt
Arizona has just launched a partnership with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt to acquire as much as $2 billion in medical debt— and forgive all of it. The program, announced on Monday by Gov. Katie Hobbs, will benefit up to 1 million Arizona residents living below 400% of the federal poverty line or owe medical debts totaling more than 5% of their annual income.
At $30 million in funding — out of pandemic relief funds allocated to Arizona under the American Rescue Plan Act — it’s the biggest example yet of a state or local government using federal dollars for massive debt cancellation.