STATE HOUSE DEMOCRATS TRYING TO PASS MEDICAL DEBT RELIEF PROGRAM

State House Democrats are continuing to try to pass a medical debt relief program. Lawmakers held a news conference Tuesday, saying the program should be passed during the second part of the legislative session. Governor Josh Shapiro has proposed spending four-million-dollars to cover the proposal, which supporters say would target relief to those most in need while avoiding concern that debt relief may provide incentives to people who purposefully don’t pay for healthcare services. A measure that would have directed funding toward a not-for-profit group that buys out medical debt passed in the House last year, but has not been brought up for a vote in the Senate.