More than 40% of Mainers carry some amount of medical debt. (Photo by Getty Images)
More than 1,500 Mainers are having their medical debt canceled thanks to a donation from a nonprofit that advocates for progressive tax and health care policies.
Mainers For Working Families partnered with the national organization Undue Medical Debt to cancel more than $1.8 million in debt for low-income residents and those whose debt makes up a sizable portion of their annual income, according to a news release from the organization Thursday. Recipients live in all 16 counties and had an average of about $1,200 forgiven.
“Very few people can afford surprise medical bills, yet many face them, leading to debt. Sometimes, life-altering and utterly debilitating debt,” said Evan LeBrun, executive director of Mainers For Working Families. “Our message is simple: nobody should face financial ruin because of medical bills.”
Medical debt is an issue plaguing many Mainers, with 42% of people across the state carrying some amount, according to Consumers For Affordable Health Care.
A survey from 2023 found that 60% of people in the state have experienced at least one financial hardship due to medical expenses, more than two-thirds believe they are one major medical event away from financial disaster, and that many people with medical debt have insurance coverage.
Earlier this year, the Maine Legislature split on proposals to address medical debt, passing a bill to eliminate interest or fees related to the debt and its collection while blocking another that would have banned reporting agencies from including medical debt on a credit report.
LeBrun told Maine Morning Star his organization was able to purchase the debt for less than a penny on the dollar, similar to what debt collection agencies do. He added that Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit whose mission is to erase medical debt, managed the debt purchasing after his team provided the donation.
The donation was used to forgive debt for Mainers earning less than 400% of the poverty line and those whose debt totals 5% or more of their annual income, LeBrun said.
The release said the recipients of the medical debt relief will receive letters in the mail notifying them of which accounts have been erased. They won’t need to take any action.
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