WEEKLY UPDATE: 05/01/25
At an event convening health policy experts in New York City this week, the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) highlighted Connecticut hospitals’ and health systems’ ongoing partnership with Undue Medical Debt to provide medical debt relief to thousands of local patients. Connecticut hospitals were invited to share insight into the state’s collaboration with Undue as the city implements a parallel municipal program with the nonprofit.
The United Hospital Fund of New York, a nonprofit that conducts health policy research and supports initiatives to improve healthcare delivery, facilitated the meeting so New York City healthcare leaders could learn about Connecticut’s experience with the organization. Following a presentation on Undue Medical Debt’s model to abolish medical debt at scale, CHA Senior Vice President of Policy Paul Kidwell joined a panel of industry leaders to discuss the importance of provider engagement to the program’s success.
Mayor Eric Adams announced in January that the city is partnering with Undue Medicaid Debt to wipe out more than $2 billion in medical debt for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers over three years.
Connecticut hospitals joined the Lamont administration in December to provide an update on the state’s first round of medical debt relief, which forgives $30 million for nearly 23,000 residents. The state aims to cancel a total of about $650 million in medical debt by 2026.
Connecticut hospitals and health systems have some of the most expansive financial assistance policies in the nation to ensure all residents — uninsured or underinsured — have access to care. They do this by connecting patients to affordable coverage, coordinating with patients to create reasonable payment plans, and advocating for policies to prevent medical debt in the first place, such as insurance designs that better protect families from unexpected costs and excessively high deductibles.
Click here to learn more about Connecticut’s partnership with Undue Medical Debt.
