Overview
- Board President Tony Preckwinkle said the county will keep funding medical debt cancellation next year once current dollars are exhausted.
- Cook County reports $1.5 billion in local medical debt erased to date, the most of any U.S. county, with about $1,300 forgiven on average per resident.
- Gov. JB Pritzker says the state program has eliminated over $1.1 billion, bringing combined relief with Cook County to more than $2 billion for over a million Illinoisans, with a statewide average of $1,200 per patient.
- The program operates without applications or paperwork, carries no tax consequences, and notifies residents by mail after debts are canceled.
- County officials said the effort will continue even as federal stimulus support from the 2021 American Rescue Plan winds down.