NJ will pay off medical debt for 20K people
State hasn't identified recipients of payment
By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey will pay a large health care provider $550,000 to wipe away $90 million of medical debt held by almost 21,000 residents under the final installment of a program that has erased $1.6 billion in unpaid bills since 2023, state officials announced on September 17. [2026]
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But which New Jersey provider is receiving the $550,000 in taxpayer funds remains a mystery.
..... Neither the state Department of Health nor a national nonprofit that brokered the deal would say who received the public funds, even though the identities of hospital groups such as Atlantic Health and Prime Healthcare have been made public in prior transactions.
..... A Health Department spokesperson did not respond to questions about the recipient of the funds.
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A spokesperson from Undue Medical Debt, the nonprofit group that has partnered with the state for three years to retire old medical bills, said the provider has "chosen not to go public."
..... Daniel Lempert, a vice president for the New York-based group, said it was standard practice to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the providers such as hospitals to ensure patient privacy.
..... "We can't acquire and relieve medical debt without following these standards," Lempert said. "As such, it's u- to the provider partner to go public."
..... NorthJersey.com has submitted an open public records request to the Health Department for the information.
Funded with COVID-era American Rescue Plan money
..... The debt relief program began in 2023 under Governor Phil Murphy with funding form the American Rescue Plan fund - the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 pandemic stimulus bill - in a state that has some of the highest hospital cost in the nation.
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Because medical debt is so enormous and often goes unpaid, it is sold on the secondary markets for pennies on the dollar. undue Medical Debt has often negotiated debt payments down to under a penny a dollar.
..... Among the payment was $550,000 to Prime Healthcare and $900,000 to Atlantic Health System in2024 to wipe out a combined $220 million in medics debt for nearly 130,000 patients.
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Other payments included $270,000 to doctor's groups and collection agencies to cancel $36 million of debt of 20,00 people.
..... The latest $550,000 payment to the unknown entity will cancel an average debt of around $4,000 to $4.500 per patient. Letters were being sen last week [0917/2026] to those receiving the relief.
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The most recent payment to the unknown provider is the ninth and final one for the program, officials said.
..... "No one chooses to get sick, be in an accident or have a chronic condition," Allison Sesso, CEO of Undue, said in a statement. "At a time when budgets are tight, this program is one clear example of how New Jersey has stepped up to ease the burden on those who need it most."