Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Medical debt in Illinois is not just an economic crisis – it’s a public health crisis.

“People who have medical debt are three times as likely to struggle with depression and anxiety. We know that medical debt disproportionately affects Black and Latino residents,” said State Sen. Mike Simmons (pictured) (D-Chicago), who sponsored the bill creating a medical debt relief program, which he called “an extraordinary, life-changing, and literally life-saving program.”

Simmons, at a statehouse news conference celebrated a pair of milestones: in its first two years, the program has wiped out more than $1 billion in debt for more than 500,000 Illinoisans.

One of them, Simmons said, is an Algonquin woman who needed a new liver. “Liver transplants are very hard to get. She was able to get one, and she had $2,300 in medical debt as a result. This program has erased that $2,300 for that woman. This is for you.”

Illinois is able to purchase old debt for pennies on the dollar through a program called Undue Medical Debt.

Simmons said eligible families will be notified by mail.