The Governor of New Jersey yesterday called for the expansion of a program the purchases and forgives the medical debt of state residents while also asking the state legislature to enact a series of laws to keep families from “being caught in a medical debt trap” by making medical bills more clear and transparent.
Gov. Phil Murphy, who is in his second term and is barred from running for re-election, laid out those goals and more during his annual State of the State address.
Forgiveness: Last year, the state invested $10 million to purchase unpaid medical debts of state residents and then had those debts forgiven. The state is one of a number of entities across the country that have used RIP Medical Debt to facilitate the forgiveness of medical debts.
- During his remarks, Gov. Murphy called out Andrew Gregory, the husband of Casey McIntyre, both of whom lived in New Jersey. McIntyre, you may remember, passed away recently and her dying wish was for people to donate to a campaign that would use RIP Medical Debt to forgive the debts of patients. The campaign raised more than $200,000, which allowed for nearly $20 million in medical debts to be forgiven.
- “… let us work together to ensure our neighbors don’t have to start a GoFundMe campaign just to afford potentially lifesaving health care,” Gov. Murphy said in his remarks.
Medical Debt Legislation: The governor also called on the state legislature to enact a series of laws to keep families from being saddled with medical debt in the first place. He asked for the first bill — which would require every medical bill to be clear and transparent — be named for Louisa Carmona, a 25-year-old state employee who worked on making healthcare in New Jersey more affordable. She was killed in a car accident on January 1.
- “In the wealthiest nation in the world,” the governor said, “nobody should have to worry about being able to afford critical health care services or a lifesaving medical procedure.”
