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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wants to get rid of medical debt for 1 million people

Gov. Pritzker wants to eliminate medical debt for 1M in Illinois
Gov. Pritzker wants to eliminate medical debt for 1M in Illinois 00:38

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. JB Pritzker wants to eliminate medical debt for 1 million people in Illinois in the next few years.

On Monday, he discussed proposed legislation to give more than 340,000 people in the state relief from medical debt.

"Too many patients leave hospitals with their credit ruined or at risk for bankruptcy in the ensuing months," Pritzker said.

During his budget address, the governor proposed eliminating $4 billion of medical debt for more than 1 million people in Illinois.

He said Loyola Medicine had already announced it will forgive $112 million in medical debt, helping more than 60,000 people in Illinois.

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