Medical debt initiative on track to erase $80 million in unpaid doctor bills for nearly 73,000 Cook County residents
A Cook County initiative to address the effects of medical debt has so far erased more than $25 million in past-due bills and is expected to wipe out about $55 million more in the coming weeks for 73,000 county residents total, officials told the Tribune.
The first round of debt-buying has spent down just $800,000 of the county’s allotted $12 million for the federal funded program. Officials hope to erase $1 billion in debt before its expiration.
In July, the Cook County Board approved President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposal to spend $12 million of the county’s $1 billion allotted American Rescue Plan funds for the program through the end of 2024. The COVID-19 relief ARPA dollars must be spent by the end of
