Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) unveiled a plan Friday to cancel medical debt for residents of the Constitution State in what would be a first-of-its-kind initiative. The plan was first unveiled on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” According to ABC, the plan includes using $6.5 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to cancel $1 billion of medical debt in collaboration with a nonprofit that buys and eliminates debt, The Hill reported. Those who are eligible for the cancellation include families that have debt equivalent to 5 percent or higher 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,” Lamont said of those struggling with medical debt. “They should not have to suffer twice — first with the illness, then with the debt.” About 250,000 Connecticut residents are expected to have their medical debt erased, according to state officials.
