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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 395
February Session, 2024
AN ACT CONCERNING THE REPORTING OF MEDICAL DEBT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Medical debt" means an obligation or alleged obligation of a 2
consumer to pay any amount related to the receipt of health care 3
services, products or devices provided to such consumer by a health 4
care provider. "Medical debt" does not include debt charged to a credit 5
card unless the credit card is issued under an open-end or closed-end 6
plan offered specifically for the payment of health care services, 7
products or devices. 8
(2) "Collection entity" means any individual, partnership, 9
corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, government or 10
government subdivision, agency or other entity that either purchases 11
medical debt or collects medical debt on behalf of another entity. 12
(3) "Credit rating agency" and "credit report" have the same meanings 13
as provided in section 36a-695 of the general statutes. 14
(4) "Health care provider" has the same meaning as provided in 15
section 19a-17b of the general statutes. 16 Substitute Bill No. 395
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(b) A health care provider doing business in this state (1) shall not 17
report any portion of a medical debt to a credit rating agency for use in 18
a credit report, and (2) shall include in any contract entered into with a 19
collection entity for the purchase or collection of medical debt a 20
provision that prohibits the reporting of any portion of such medical 21
debt to a credit rating agency. 22
(c) Any portion of a medical debt that is reported to a credit rating 23
agency by a health care provider shall be void. 24
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 19a-673b of the general statutes is 25
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 26
2024): 27
(c) On or after October 1, 2022, no hospital or entity that is owned by 28
or affiliated with such hospital, as defined in section 19a-490, and no 29
collection agent, as defined in section 19a-509b, that receives a referral 30
from a hospital or entity that is owned by or affiliated with such 31
hospital, shall: 32
(1) [Report] On and after July 1, 2024, report an individual patient to 33
a credit rating agency, as defined in section 36a-695; [, for a period of 34
one year beginning on the date that such patient first receives a bill for 35
health care provided by the hospital or entity that is owned by or 36
affiliated with such hospital to such patient on or after October 1, 2022;] 37
(2) Initiate an action to foreclose a lien on an individual patient's 38
primary residence if the lien was filed to secure payment for health care 39
provided by the hospital or entity that is owned by or affiliated with 40
such hospital to such patient on or after October 1, 2022; or 41
(3) Apply to a court for an execution against an individual patient's 42
wages pursuant to section 52-361a, or otherwise seek to garnish such 43
patient's wages, to collect payment for health care provided by the 44
hospital or entity that is owned by or affiliated with such hospital to 45
such patient on or after October 1, 2022, if such patient is eligible for the 46
hospital bed fund. 47 Substitute Bill No. 395
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 19a-673b(c)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The title was changed.
HS Joint Favorable Subst.