LCO No. 5936 1 of 2
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1469
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5936
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING MEDICAL DEBT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 46b-37 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
(a) Any purchase made by either a husband or wife in his or her own 3
name shall be presumed, in the absence of notice to the contrary, to be 4
made by him or her as an individual and he or she shall be liable for the 5
purchase. 6
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, it 7
shall be the joint duty of each spouse to support his or her family, and 8
both shall be liable for: (1) The reasonable and necessary services of a 9
physician or dentist; (2) hospital expenses rendered the husband or wife 10
or minor child while residing in the family of his or her parents; (3) the 11
rental of any dwelling unit actually occupied by the husband and wife 12
as a residence and reasonably necessary to them for that purpose; and 13
(4) any article purchased by either which has in fact gone to the support 14
of the family, or for the joint benefit of both. 15
Raised Bill No. 1469
LCO No. 5936 2 of 2
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a 16
spouse who abandons his or her spouse without cause shall be liable for 17
the reasonable support of such other spouse while abandoned. 18
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, 19
no spouse surviving after the death of a spouse shall be responsible for 20
medical debt related to the (1) reasonable and necessary services of a 21
physician or dentist, or (2) hospital expenses rendered to a deceased 22
spouse. 23
[(d)] (e) No action may be maintained against either spouse under the 24
provisions of this section, either during or after any period of separation 25
from the other spouse, for any liability incurred by the other spouse 26
during the separation, if, during the separation the spouse who is liable 27
for support of the other spouse has provided the other spouse with 28
reasonable support. 29
[(e)] (f) Abandonment without cause by a spouse shall be a defense 30
to any liability pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (4), 31
inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section for expenses incurred by and 32
for the benefit of such spouse. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the 33
duty of a parent to support his or her minor child. 34
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 46b-37
Statement of Purpose:
To protect spouses from inheriting medical debt from their partners.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]