Patients did not need to apply for the relief. Instead they were selected if their medical debt was more than 5 percent of their annual income or if their income was less than four times the federal poverty level, which would be $63,840 per year for an individual and $132,000 for a family of four, according to the Atrius foundation.
Selected patients will receive letters from Undue Medical Debt in the mail starting July 7, stating the amount of medical debt automatically erased.
“It was like a breath of fresh air to open that letter … sometimes it feels like everything is ganging up on you,” said Scott Johnson, a patient who had $1,000 in medical debt written off when the organizations provided a smaller round of relief earlier this year. “Knowing that debt was relieved made me happy, and honestly, it’s made me more likely to keep pushing forward when it comes to my health care.”
A total of $170 million will be written off, in amounts ranging from $50 to $450,000David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
The announcement comes as one in eight Massachusetts residents reported they have some medical debt, according to studies from 2025, despite the state having the highest health insurance coverage in the country.
Dr. Ann Hwang, president of Atrius Health Equity Foundation, a nonprofit created out of the 2022 purchase of Atrius Health by Optum, called medical debt a “symptom of a broken system.”
“Health care is highly unaffordable, coverage is inadequate or difficult to acquire, and [a system] where providers and payers are not talking to each other effectively,” she said.
Despite near-universal health insurance in Massachusetts, medical debt persists in large part due to high deductible costs, according to a 2025 study from the Center for Health Information and Analysis. Families with incomes between 139 and 500 percent of the federal poverty line — roughly $39,000 to $139,000 for a family of four — and Black residents were more likely to have $2,000 or more in medical debt, the study found. They also often forgo other medical care as a result.
“More people are avoiding going to the doctor [and] getting the care they need because they face this financial burden that is undermining their willingness to go and see what’s wrong with their bodies,” said Allison Sesso, chief executive of Undue Medical Debt.
State officials are preparing for as many as 300,000 people to lose coverage due to federal cuts to Medicaid and the expiration of premium tax credit under the Affordable Care Act expire.Patrick Sison/AP Photo/Patrick Sison
The financial relief comes as Massachusetts braces for changes to federal health insurance policies that some warn could lead to massive disruptions. State officials predict as many as 300,000 people would lose health coverage because of cuts to Medicaid and expiration of tax credits under the Affordable Care Act expire.
Between November and February, net enrollment through the ACA exchange, or the Massachusetts Health Connector, fell by 27,500. Current enrollment is just under 350,000.
“We pulled the rug out from health care funding,” Sesso said. “There is an expectation that people will lose coverage, and we know coverage is the best antidote to medical debt.”
The average debt per recipient is $1,220.94, according to the foundation.
Undue Medical Debt is a national nonprofit that works with hospitals, health systems, and physician groups to purchase and write off medical debt.
The organization buys debt directly from hospitals and health care providers, with mediation from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. They buy it “pennies on the dollar” for a standard price across the country, funded by the Atrius Foundation.
In March, Undue Medical Debt and Atrius wiped out the medical debts of 27,000 Massachusetts residents, at a cost of $42 million. Last year, the organizations provided debt relief to 17,000 people. Including this new round of relief announced Thursday, the partnership has paid off $255 million in medical debts.
The Atrius Health Equity Foundation has nearly $150 million in assets, according to its most recent tax filings. Hwang said the debt relief is for any resident of eastern Massachusetts, not just former Atrius patients.
Hwang explained the foundation also works to assist individuals to negotiate their medical debt and advocates for policies that reduce health inequities in the state.
“Medical debt is one that is more or less man-made,” she said. “It is a created problem, and therefore it is a problem that can be solved.”
Yogev Toby can be reached at yogev.toby@globe.com.