The Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation addressing the growing problem of medical debt in Michigan.
Key Points:
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- House Bills 6071-6073 were introduced by Representatives Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson), Steve Frisbie (R-Pennfield Twp.), and Karl Bohnak (R-Deerton).
- It requires all hospitals in Michigan to maintain financial assistance programs to help patients who can’t afford care.
- The programs would be based on income and financial need.
- Hospitals would also be required to clearly communicate available assistance options to patients before bills are sent to collections.
- The plan prohibits debt collectors from falsely threatening to report someone’s debt and expressly requires debt collectors to disclose their inability to report medical debt information.
- It bars medical creditors from reporting debt to credit agencies.
- The legislation also requires hospitals to report data on their financial assistance programs to the state.
- Any penalties collected from violations would be directed toward efforts to further relieve medical debt for Michigan residents.
Next Steps:
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- The bills were sent to the Senate for consideration and referred directly to the Committee of the Whole.
- The Senate has also passed its version of medical debt reforms.
“No one sees a medical emergency coming. We can’t predict car accidents, cancer diagnoses, or other tragic accidents, and these chance occurrences shouldn’t mean a lifetime of abuse from predatory medical debt collectors,” said Representative Bohnak. “Our plan tackles the problem head on and ensures that unavoidable medical debt never means the end of someone’s financial stability.”
