Connecticut to Become First State to Cancel Medical Debt, Governor Says

Connecticut plans to eliminate medical debt for all eligible residents this year, making it the first state to offer such a relief program, Gov. Ned Lamont said in an interview on Friday. Mr. Lamont unveiled the plan during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which will include using $6.5 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to erase $1 billion in medical debt. He said the state will partner with a nonprofit organization that purchases and cancels medical debt. Eligible residents include families whose medical debt represents 5 percent or more of their annual income. “This is not something they did because they were spending too much money, this is something because they got hit with a medical emergency,” Mr. Lamont told the news outlet....