Sixth round of NJ Medical Debt Relief Initiative erases $86M in debt
53,000+ residents receive relief — no application required
Program nears $1.4B in total medical debt forgiven statewide
Relief funded with ARPA dollars, administered by Undue Medical Debt
Gov. Phil Murphy announced the sixth round of New Jersey’s Medical Debt Relief Initiative Jan. 2. The latest move eliminates more than $86 million in medical debt for over 53,000 residents through the state’s ongoing partnership with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt.
With this round, New Jersey nears $1.4 billion in total medical debt forgiven for more than 828,000 residents statewide. NJBIZ has reported on previous rounds.
Approximately $600,000 in American Rescue Plan funds support the latest relief effort. Undue used that capital to purchase qualifying medical debt directly from health care providers and secondary market partners.
Impacted residents began receiving Undue-branded notification letters in the mail starting Dec. 27, 2025. No action is required by recipients.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act into law July 22, 2204. Read more here. – PROVIDED BY RICH HUNDLEY III/NJ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
“With nearly $1.4 billion in medical debt abolished for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents, we are making a real, tangible impact and alleviating the burden of unpayable medical bills for our residents,” said Murphy. “Our partnership with Undue Medical Debt continues to build on my administration’s efforts to create a more affordable and accessible health care system for all New Jerseyans.
“Nobody should have to delay life-saving care because they fear the crushing burden of medical debt or cut corners to ensure their basic health care needs are met.”
A healthy investment
Undue Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso called the milestone historic.
“At a time when the medical debt crisis is on track to get even worse, New Jersey stands as a national leader — not only providing direct relief, but also enacting critical protections like prohibiting medical debt from appearing on credit reports,” said Sesso. “No one chooses to get sick, be in an accident, or have a chronic illness, and I’m grateful for the provider partners who continue working with us to ensure medical debt doesn’t prevent people from seeking the care they need.
“We’re proud that tens of thousands of families will soon receive this welcome news in the mail.”
Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown emphasized the public health impact. He noted every dollar the state invests in eliminating medical debt is an investment in better health for the Garden State.
Brown
Research consistently shows that medical debt drives people to forgo or delay care. — Jeff Brown, acting commissioner, NJDOH
“Research consistently shows that medical debt drives people to forgo or delay care,” said Brown. “When families aren’t weighed down by past medical bills, they’re more likely to schedule screenings, keep doctor’s appointments, and address health issues before they become crises.”
There is no application process for relief. Relief is one-time, source-based, and dependent on participating providers and debt holders.
Undue purchases bundled portfolios of past-due medical debt for pennies on the dollar and then abolishes it — rather than collecting. Eligible residents include those at or below 400% of the federal poverty level or whose medical debt equals at least 5% of their annual income.
