The letter turned out to be legitimate. Daly-Mack is one of about 2.5 million North Carolinians whose medical debt was erased under a new statewide agreement with hospitals. The hospital wiped away her $459 debt, dating back to a 2014 emergency room visit for a sinus infection.
[...]
All of the state's 99 hospitals agreed to stop collecting certain debts dating back to 2014. They also pledged going forward to automatically discount care for patients who qualify for financial assistance — without requiring them to apply. For a family of four, that means an annual income of less than $96,000 qualifies.
[...]
Kinsley crafted a plan to address that and prevent some patients from accumulating new debt. The state tied additional Medicaid dollars for hospitals to debt relief dating back to 2014 — the earliest date the state could have expanded the health insurance program. Hospitals also agreed to shift the burden of applying for financial assistance away from patients and automatically apply discounts.
[...]
Other states are taking action to tackle this $220 billion problem estimated to impact 1 in 12 Americans.
Arizona and New Jersey used state dollars to buy and forgive medical debt. Oregon and Illinois screen patients for financial assistance. Colorado and New York ban medical debt from credit reports. The federal government recently rolled back that same protection.