Connecticut to become 1st state to cancel medical debt for eligible residents: Exclusive

Connecticut will become the first state to cancel medical debt for eligible residents, Gov. Ned Lamont announced exclusively Friday on "Good Morning America."

The state plans to erase approximately $1 billion in medical debt this year by leveraging $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, it said.

"This is not something they did because they were spending too much money, this is something because they got hit with a medical emergency," Lamont told "GMA." "They should not have to suffer twice -- first with the illness, then with the debt."

The state said it is contracting with a nonprofit organization that buys medical debt and eliminates it at a reduced cost.