Stronger Consumer Protection and Transparency in Medical Debt Collection.
This law establishes new rules to shield patients from aggressive medical debt collection practices. Healthcare providers and collectors must now pause collection efforts if a patient is appealing an insurance decision and are required to assess the patient's eligibility for financial assistance before initiating legal action. Furthermore, collection is prohibited for 180 days after the initial bill is sent, and patients must receive an easy-to-understand itemized debt statement.
Key points
Medical debt collection must stop if a patient is appealing a health insurance decision.
Healthcare entities must check if a patient qualifies for charity care or financial assistance before starting collection actions.
Aggressive collection actions (like wage garnishment) are banned for 180 days after the initial bill date.
A public database will track medical debt collection practices, including demographic data on debtors, to increase transparency.
Status:
Expired
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