Nearly two months after the first round of medical debt relief, Governor Phil Murphy has announced that 77,000 individuals and families in New Jersey will benefit from the elimination of an additional $120 million in medical debt. This latest effort comes as part of the state’s partnership with the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt. To date, the partnership has abolished $220 million in medical debt for 127,000 residents across the state.
Governor Murphy highlighted the significance of this relief by sitting down with Andrew Rose Gregory, who was a special guest at the 2024 State of the State Address. Gregory, along with his late wife Casey, raised $1.1 million to help eliminate medical debt after Casey’s passing. Their efforts have been instrumental in helping others avoid financial ruin due to unpayable medical expenses.
Leveraging $900,000 in American Rescue Plan funds, the state partnered with Undue Medical Debt and the Atlantic Health System to identify and purchase medical debts for pennies on the dollar. Residents will either have part or all of their debt eliminated, reflecting Governor Murphy’s ongoing commitment to making healthcare more affordable and accessible in New Jersey.
In addition to these debt relief efforts, Governor Murphy recently signed the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act, which shields New Jersey families from accumulating further medical debt, protects against predatory medical debt collectors, and prohibits medical debt reporting to credit agencies. New Jersey is one of only five states with such comprehensive consumer protections.
Residents who qualify for relief are not required to apply. Undue Medical Debt works directly with hospital systems like Atlantic Health to identify and purchase bundles of unpaid medical debt, which are then forgiven. Those benefiting from the relief will receive a letter from Undue starting October 17.