HOBOKEN — Consumers struggling with high medical bills may get some breathing space under new regulations planned by a Hoboken legislator.
On Tuesday, Assemblyman Ruben J. Ramos, Jr. (D-Hudson) announced that in the next Assembly session he will introduce legislation requiring health care providers to employ more “practical” measures when attempting to collect payment for services before reporting the outstanding debt to a collection or consumer reporting agency.
“Everyone has a responsibility to pay medical bills and debts and no one should escape or evade their responsibilities,” said Ramos in a released statement. “However, emergencies happen. Sometimes unexpected medical costs are too much to pay all at once and good faith efforts are made. When these efforts are made, debt collectors shouldn’t be harassing people and threatening their credit history.”
The bill would require that a health care provider observe certain practices during the collection of an outstanding balance, including written notification to the patient that the account will be referred to a private collection agency at least 30 days prior to making that referral.
The bill would also require that the health care provider not communicate information about the outstanding balance in a patient’s account to a consumer reporting agency until at least 45 days have elapsed since the date that the provider referred the patient’s account to a private collection agency.
Ramos said the bill provides a lifeline for debtors to make their payments without affecting their credit while also protecting the interests of medical providers and debt collectors by allowing them to still pursue collections.
A health care provider that violates the provisions of the bill would be subject to penalties to be determined by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services or the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs pursuant to statute. The bill would take effect on the 90th day after enactment and apply to health care services provided on or after the effective date.