The state allocated $10 million to the program, which began about two years ago. Pritzker said he intends to keep funding it, calling the debt relief a high-return investment: for each penny the state spends, he said, a dollar of debt is cleared.

Residents whose debts are erased receive a letter explaining the amount; they do not apply. The state says the program has eliminated an average of about $1,200 per person, with one resident receiving relief from as much as $900,000 in debt.

The initiative works with Undue Medical Debt, a nonprofit that negotiates the purchase or donation of medical debt portfolios from hospitals and health systems. Eligible households generally must earn no more than 400% of the federal poverty level.

Pritzker said the program is meant to ease the financial strain that can follow an unexpected illness or injury. People who receive relief have told him they were moved by the letters, he said, because many want to pay their bills but cannot afford them.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who launched a county medical debt relief effort before the statewide program, joined Pritzker at the announcement. The state and county programs have together cleared $2.4 billion for about 1.5 million residents, officials said.

Cook County initially used federal American Rescue Plan funds for its program. Preckwinkle said the county plans to continue the work after that funding ends and use program data to identify who is being pushed into medical debt and why, with the goal of addressing its underlying causes.

The state program has reached residents across the region, including about 7% of DuPage County residents, nearly 13% in Kane County and almost 9% in Lake County. In Kankakee County, about 22% of residents have had medical debt eliminated through the state effort, according to figures shared by officials.