BERNARDA MALEVSKA/ Capitol News Illinois 该州在推出新的救济计划两年后，以极低的成本为近70万伊利诺伊州居民清偿了超过14亿美元的医疗债务。
BERNARDA MALEVSKA/ Capitol News Illinois The state has erased over $1.4 billion in medical debt for almost 700,000 Illinoisans for pennies on the dollar, two years after launching a new relief program.
该计划启动时，伊利诺伊州医疗债务救济计划的目标是清偿10亿美元的债务。该州已超额完成目标4亿美元，且仅花费不到1000万美元的州资金即可实现这一成果。这意味着，每投入1美元州资金到该计划，就能清偿超过100美元的债务。
At its launch, the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program aimed to eliminate $1 billion in debt. The state has surpassed that goal by $400 million, spending less than $10 million in state dollars to achieve these results. That means that every state dollar invested in the program wiped out over $100 in debt.
这一成果得益于该州与Undue Medical Debt的合作 — — 这是一个与地方政府和医疗服务提供者合作、为低收入居民购买并清偿符合条件的医疗债务的非营利组织。
That was possible due to the state’s partnership with Undue Medical Debt — a nonprofit that works with local governments and healthcare providers to purchase and eliminate qualifying medical debt owed by low-income residents.
“医疗债务是导致破产的主要原因之一，”州长JB·普利兹克周四在芝加哥的新闻发布会上表示。“它可能毁掉信用，限制金融机会，并在人们出院多年后仍造成长期的不确定性。这是一个真正破碎系统的症状。”家庭收入达到或低于联邦贫困线400%，或医疗债务占家庭收入5%及以上的伊利诺伊州居民符合资格。
“Medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news conference Thursday in Chicago. “It can ruin credit, limit financial opportunities, and cause years of uncertainty long after they leave the hospital. That is a symptom of a truly broken system.”Illinois residents whose household income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, or who have medical debt equal to 5% or more of their household income, are eligible.
居民无需申请该计划 — — 受影响的家庭在债务被清偿后会收到通知信。
Residents do not apply to this program — impacted households receive letters after their debts have been erased.
“医疗应该是让人们重新站起来，而不仅仅是让他们，嗯，陷入多年的经济困境中，”普利兹克说。
“Healthcare should be about getting people back on their feet, not just keeping them, well, down with years of financial struggle,” Pritzker said.
该州范围的倡议参照了2022年启动的库克县计划。自那时起，库克县医疗债务救济倡议已额外清偿了10亿美元的医疗债务，覆盖了22%的符合条件的成年人。
The statewide initiative was modeled after Cook County’s program that launched in 2022. Since then, the Cook County Medical Debt Relief Initiative has eliminated an additional $1 billion in medical debt, covering 22% of eligible adults .
《美国救援计划法案》为库克县的倡议提供了资金，以支持从新冠肺炎疫情中恢复。这些资金将在今年结束，库克县委员会主席托尼·普雷克温克尔表示。
The American Rescue Plan Act funded the Cook County initiative to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds end this year, Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, said.
“在特朗普政府退出对工作家庭的联邦责任之际，库克县和伊利诺伊州坚定地认为，获得优质医疗保健不应取决于你的收入或支付能力，”普雷克温克尔说。
“At a time when the Trump administration is stepping back from its federal responsibility to working families, Cook County and the state of Illinois are standing firm in our belief that access to quality healthcare should not depend on your income or your ability to pay,” Preckwinkle said.
最近，特朗普总统和联邦政府推出了对医疗补助计划（Medicaid）的削减，该计划为收入和资源有限的人群提供免费或低成本的医疗保障。
Recently, President Donald Trump and the federal government have rolled out cuts to Medicaid, a program that provides free or low-cost coverage to people with limited income and resources.
伊利诺伊州医疗与家庭服务部警告称，到2027年初将出现两项政策变化，可能降低伊利诺伊州居民的资格：医疗保险资格重新确认将从每年一次改为每六个月一次，以及联邦工作要求。
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services warned that two policy changes are expected by the beginning of 2027 and may reduce Illinoisans’ eligibility: redeterminations every six months for Medicare eligibility instead of every year and a federal work requirement.
对于社区健康中心（Community Health）首席执行官斯蒂芬·威尔丁而言，该中心为低收入、无保险和保险不足的患者提供免费服务，获得医疗保健永远不应与支付能力挂钩。
For Steph Willding, CEO of Community Health, a center offering free services for low-income, uninsured and underinsured patients, access to healthcare should never be connected to their ability to pay.
“我们知道为患者取消费用障碍的价值，随着联邦政策变化继续威胁越来越多伊利诺伊州居民的医疗保障，这一项目从未如此重要，”威尔丁在新闻发布会上说。
“We know the value of taking away the barrier of cost for our patients, and as federal policy changes continue to threaten healthcare coverage for more and more Illinoisans, this program has never been more important,” said Willding at a news conference.
医疗债务减免计划为每位居民平均减免的债务超过1200美元，而最高减免金额超过90万美元。
The average debt relieved of the medical debt relief program per resident was over $1,200, while the highest amount eliminated was over $900,000.
该计划为伊利诺伊州全部102个县的居民减免了债务。在40个县，超过5%的居民获得了债务减免。在11个人口超过10万的县中，这一比例更高，其中坎卡基县超过21.5%。
The program relieved debt for residents in all 102 Illinois counties. In 40 counties, more than 5% of residents received debt relief. In 11 counties with populations over 100,000, the percentage was even higher, with Kankakee County at over 21.5%.
尽管库克县将从自身预算中资助此项举措，但普雷克温克尔表示，他们不愿退出该项目。
Although Cook County will fund this initiative from its own budget, Preckwinkle said they aren’t willing to walk away from the program.
“此项工作的下一阶段将利用该举措的数据，了解谁正被推入医疗债务以及原因，并制定政策以解决其根本原因，”普雷克温克尔说。
“The next phase of this work will put data from this initiative to use to understand who is being pushed into medical debt and why, and to design policies that address its root causes,” Preckwinkle said.
此故事最初由伊利诺伊州议会新闻（Capitol News Illinois）发布，并通过与美联社的合作伙伴关系进行分发。
This story was originally published by Capitol News Illinois and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.