WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HB 5424

AN ACT CONCERNING MEDICAL DEBT.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Lucy Dathan and 1 co-sponsor

HB 5424 tightens medical-debt rules to shield patients from aggressive collections, improves billing notices, and requires clearer charity-care disclosures.

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON General Law
#debts #medicalcare
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 5424

Summary — HB 5424: "An Act Concerning Medical Debt"

Note: The full bill text was not provided with your request. This summary therefore documents what is known from the bill title and the legislative record you supplied, explains likely subject matter based on the title, and identifies the specific procedural history and stakeholders to check in the bill text.

Purpose (as indicated by title)

The bill, titled "An Act Concerning Medical Debt," is intended to address issues related to medical debt. The title indicates the law likely aims to modify how medical debt is created, collected, reported, or otherwise handled to protect consumers, providers, or public entities — the precise scope and legal changes require review of the bill text.

Procedural history and status

  • Filed: 2025-03-14
  • Referred initially to Joint Committee on General Law (2025-01-17 entry) and later to Intergovernmental Affairs and Local Government at various stages.
  • Committee hearings and reports: public hearings and testimony in April–May 2025; committee reported favorably without amendment (distributed 2025-05-02; report printed 2025-05-16).
  • House and Senate passage (amended in the House on 2025-05-10).
  • Sent to Governor: 2025-05-22
  • Signed by Governor: 2025-06-20
  • Effective date: the legislative record shows “Effective on . . . . . . . . . . . . .” (blank). Check the enrolled bill or official state statutes for the statute’s effective date.

Companion bill: SB 2645.

What the bill likely addresses (areas to check in the bill text)

Because the text was not provided, readers should confirm which of the following common medical-debt topics HB 5424 actually includes:
- Consumer protections against aggressive medical debt collection (limits on wage garnishment, bank levies, property liens).
- Requirements for hospitals or providers to offer or disclose charity care/financial assistance and procedures for applying.
- Limits on reporting medical debt to consumer credit reporting agencies or requirements to remove paid/settled medical debt.
- Restrictions on sale or assignment of medical debt to third‑party debt buyers, or requirements for validation of debts.
- Billing and notice requirements (itemized statements, notice before collection or lien).
- Caps on interest, fees, or collection costs on medical debt.
- Procedure changes for courts handling medical debt collection actions (e.g., standards of proof, mandatory mediation).
- Data reporting or oversight requirements for providers, insurers, or collectors.

Who would be affected

  • Patients and family members who owe or might incur medical bills.
  • Hospitals, physician practices, clinics, and other health-care providers.
  • Debt collectors, debt buyers, and credit reporting agencies.
  • Insurers and public payers (if the bill changes reimbursement or billing practices).
  • Courts and municipal agencies if lien or enforcement mechanisms are altered.

Potential impacts to look for

  • Increased consumer protections could reduce medical debt collection actions, lower garnishments/liens, and improve access to charity care.
  • New compliance obligations could increase administrative burden for providers and collectors.
  • Changes to credit reporting could affect consumers’ credit scores and access to credit.
  • Fiscal impacts on providers or municipal debt recovery depending on how collections are limited (check any fiscal note).

Next steps / where to find the definitive language

To confirm specific provisions, legal obligations, and the effective date:
- Review the enrolled/signed bill text on the state legislature’s official website (search HB 5424 or the bill number).
- Check the Governor’s signing documents and any accompanying fiscal note or implementation guidance.
- Compare companion SB 2645 for identical or differing language.

If you’d like, I can retrieve and summarize the full bill text (if you provide it or permit me to access the legislature’s site) and produce a detailed section-by-section summary and analysis of impacts.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.