By TJ L’Heureux | Phoenix New Times
Medical debt can knock someone down and not let them back up. It can tank a person’s credit score, lead them to delay lifesaving medical care and force them to pass up job opportunities. When the health care to stay alive puts you deep in the red, it can ironically be a real killer.
For roughly 352,000 Arizonans, though, the heavy weight of outstanding medical bills is about to get a lot lighter. On Wednesday, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced that her administration partnered with nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to wipe away $429 million in medical debt for residents of the state.
“Medical debt deprives our fellow Arizonans of their basic dignity, prevents our families and neighbors from living happy and productive lives, and endangers the Arizona Promise,” Hobbs said in a written statement. “By erasing debt for hundreds of thousands of people across our state, we are creating pathways to economic security and empowering them to realize their full potential.”
