When St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced last year that he would dedicate $1.1 million in federal COVID relief aid to knock out up to $110 million in medical debt citywide, some scoffed. Why spend American Rescue Plan Act dollars helping to eliminate hard-to-collect funds that hospitals could just write off themselves?

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter says the goal is to help 43,000 St. Paul residents who are struggling to pay for expenses to become medical debt-free within the year. These people are either considered to be low-income or have very high bills.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced on Tuesday that thousands of city residents are getting nearly $40 million of medical debt wiped out.

"It's a win for everyone," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Cater said. "And it's just the beginning." 32,000 people will receive a surprise notice in the mail from St. Paul and Undue Medica

More than 32,000 St. Paul residents will soon receive letters telling them their unpaid doctor's bills are no longer due. Why it matters: It's not a scam. It's the first round of a city-backed effort to eliminate $100 million in medical debt for unsuspecting community members — no application or action required.

The city of St. Paul has announced that it will eliminate $100 million in unpaid medical debt for its residents, and those being offered relief will soon receive notices, as they don’t have to apply.