HR0907 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0907 LRB102 28387 LAW 40259 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to commend Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on the occasion of the Cook County Board using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay off medical bills of Cook County residents; and

WHEREAS, Medical debt is the leading contributor to personal bankruptcies; according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, somewhere between 17% to 35% of American adults have medical debt; of those percentages, Black and Hispanic people, young adults, and low-income individuals have higher rates than the national average; and

WHEREAS, Addressing medical debt is an urgent priority, as medical debt can also lead people to avoid medical care, develop physical and mental health problems, and face adverse financial consequences, including lawsuits, wage and bank account garnishment, home liens, and bankruptcy; and

WHEREAS, Creditors, such as hospitals, ambulance operators, or private doctors, write off debts after a few years, and some put them up for sale to third-party collection agencies, which can buy millions of dollars' worth of charges at a fraction of the original cost in the hopes of collecting on at least some past-due bills; the older the debt, the cheaper it is to buy; and

WHEREAS, Under President Preckwinkle's guidance, Cook County government will pay the nonprofit group RIP Medical Debt $12 million over the next three years to buy medical debt accumulated at hospitals across Cook County for pennies on the dollar; the money to pay RIP Medical Debt comes from Cook County's pool of $1 billion in ARPA funds; and

WHEREAS, Rather than attempt to collect on the debt, RIP Medical Debt will forgive it and work to have that debt erased from credit reports; Cook County hopes to abolish $1 billion in medical debts that could date back years; and

WHEREAS, Eligible individuals will be Cook County residents who have a household income less than four times the federal poverty level or have medical debts that are 5% or more of their annual income; debt accounts will be anywhere from 18 months to seven or more years old; debtors will not need to apply to get the relief, and that debt forgiveness will not count against them when they file their taxes; and

WHEREAS, Cook County expects hundreds of thousands of residents to get debt relief over the three years of the arrangement with RIP Medical Debt; and

WHEREAS, While the two hospitals Cook County runs, Stroger and Provident, are not eligible to participate in the county's program due to ARPA spending restrictions, RIP will use privately fundraised dollars to support any debt relief associated with the Cook County hospitals; and

WHEREAS, President Preckwinkle hopes the medical debt abolition program will help improve families' long-term economic security and encourage people to seek medical care free from worries about being pursued for past-due bills; and

WHEREAS, President Preckwinkle will be recognized alongside other government officials at an event with Gene Sperling, President Joe Biden's ARPA coordinator and senior adviser, for Cook County's creative use of ARPA dollars; and

WHEREAS, The Cook County Board aims to initiate absolving medical debts in late fall; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on utilizing Cook County's ARPA funds to pay off the medical debts of Cook County residents in order to give those individuals some much needed debt relief; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to President Preckwinkle as an expression of our esteem and respect.