Medical Debt Elimination Policy Tracker

With two in every five adults behind on medical bills that total more than $220 billion, soaring medical debt is a national crisis that disproportionately burdens low-income people and communities of color. Recognizing the negative impacts of medical debt on health and financial security, Cook County, Illinois allocated $12 million of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) recovery funds in July of 2022 to eliminate up to $1 billion in medical debt. Toledo, Ohio quickly followed suit, launching a policy trend that now spans the country from California to Florida.

As part of our research examining whether and how ARPA funds are advancing racial and economic equity, we’ve been tracking the efforts that local and state governments are taking to address medical debt through debt cancellation and additional strategies. To understand these trends, we built a comprehensive database that compiles key information about each effort including the status of the effort, amount of public funding, anticipated impacts, date funds were approved, and outcomes to date. 

Our review of these efforts finds that:

• As of May 2025, 28 state and local governments across 18 states have dedicated public funds to medical debt relief programs. 
• Collectively, these initiatives promise to deliver $15.8 billion in debt relief to more than 6.2 million low- and moderate-income residents. 
• Already, 17 of these programs have abolished more than $3.4 billion worth of medical debt, directly benefiting over 2.5 million residents.

Many programs have reported outcomes over the past few months. Since our last update in March, programs in Cleveland, Connecticut, Los Angeles County, New Jersey, Orange County, Rhode Island, San Antonio, and Wayne County have cleared millions in medical debts. In addition, Vermont and San Antonio launched new programs, Maryland passed legislation enabling medical debt cancellation, and Pennsylvania passed legislation to increase hospitals’ charity care transparency (though the original debt cancellation provisions were eliminated). Lastly, Minnesota’s debt relief proposal failed to pass the legislature this session.

Explore the map below to learn about each effort, and find our 2024 analysis here. You can also read our policy brief and case studies of medical debt cancellation efforts in Toledo and Columbus.