Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters .
Harrisburg, Pa. — Up to $400 million in medical debt held by Pennsylvanians would be cleared under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new budget proposal, with relief targeted at the state’s poorest and most underwater residents.
The Democrat’s pitch calls for $4 million in taxpayer money to be used to buy up obligations accrued by people who couldn’t afford necessary care such as MRIs and ambulance trips, and to forgive those unpaid bills.
Such debt, Shapiro said in his Tuesday speech before the Pennsylvania General Assembly , is “an anchor holding those families and communities back.”
“When you can’t afford to pay it off, your credit score suffers and it makes it harder to reach financial stability,” he added.
Wiping out $400 million in debt using just 1% of that amount is possible because of America’s peculiar market for medical debt.