More than 52,000 Illinois residents have been relieved of $72 million of medical debt under a state pilot program that debuted earlier this year. A state pilot program designed to erase medical debt for 300,000 Illinois residents has already helped thousands eliminate $72 million of debt, the governor’s office announced Thursday.

Illinois has eliminated $72 million in medical debt for over 52,000 residents through the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program, which is part of a larger initiative to eliminate approximately $1 billion in medical debt statewide.

Illinois residents will start receiving notifications that their medical debts have been erased as part of the state’s Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program, which has relieved more than $72 million in debt for 52,