Bill > H367

This bill, the Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act, aims to reduce burdensome medical debt and protect patients in their dealings with medical creditors, medical debt buyers, and medical debt collectors. The key provisions of the bill include: 1. Requiring large healthcare facilities to develop a Medical Debt Mitigation Policy (MDMP) that provides financial assistance to patients based on their household income, limits interest rates on medical debt, and prohibits certain collection practices. 2. Establishing eligibility criteria for financial assistance, including free care for patients with household incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level, and discounted care for those with incomes up to 600% of the federal poverty level. 3. Restricting medical debt collectors from engaging in certain extraordinary collection actions, such as placing liens or garnishing wages, until at least 180 days after the first bill is sent. 4. Prohibiting the reporting of medical debt to consumer reporting agencies for one year and requiring additional notice before reporting. 5. Limiting the interest rate on medical debt to the weekly average one-year Treasury yield, but no less than 2% and no more than 5% per annum. 6. Requiring large healthcare facilities to post price information on their websites and provide itemized bills to patients upon request. 7. Granting patients a private right of action against medical creditors or debt collectors who violate the Act's provisions. The bill aims to protect patients from aggressive medical debt collection practices and ensure they have access to financial assistance and transparent pricing information.

Budget and Finance

https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/H367