![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/EZ72Q3RKKEI6TKJ2SVFBIJUQZM.jpg\")
A total of $170 million will be written off, in amounts ranging from $50 to $450,000David L. Ryan\/Globe Staff<\/p>\nPatients 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.<\/p>\n
Selected patients will receive letters from Undue Medical Debt in the mail starting July 7, stating the amount of medical debt automatically erased.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like a breath of fresh air to open that letter … sometimes it feels like everything is ganging up on you,\u201d 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. \u201cKnowing that debt was relieved made me happy, and honestly, it\u2019s made me more likely to keep pushing forward when it comes to my health care.\u201d<\/p>\n
A total of $170 million will be written off, in amounts ranging from $50 to $450,000David L. Ryan\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
The announcement comes as one in eight<\/a> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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 \u201csymptom of a broken system.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHealth 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,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Despite near-universal health insurance in Massachusetts, medical debt persists in large part due to high deductible costs, according to a 2025 study<\/a> from the Center for Health Information and Analysis. Families with incomes between 139 and 500 percent of the federal poverty line \u2014 roughly $39,000 to $139,000 for a family of four \u2014 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.<\/p>\n \u201cMore 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\u2019s wrong with their bodies,\u201d said Allison Sesso, chief executive of Undue Medical Debt.<\/p>\n 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.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7MVYNLRHDIRPB2NPK34J3SDE4Y.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n