Exempts credit card debt from the definition of medical debt unless the credit card is issued under an open-ended or closed-ended plan offered specifically for the payment of health care services, products, or devices provided to a person.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9438 Revised 4/12/24
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law and the public health law, in
relation to the definition of medical debt
PURPOSE: OR GENERAL OF BILL:
Relates to the definition of medical debt.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 would amend subdivision (v) of section 380-a of the general
business law, as it relates to the Fair Credit Reporting Act; Defi-
nitions to define the term "medical debt."
Section 2 makes a clarifying technical change to an existing definition
of medical debt.
Section 3 provides an effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill adds on to Chapter 727 of 2023, the Fair Medical Debt Report-
ing Act, that protects New Yorkers from medical debt by prohibiting the
reporting of medical bills to credit reporting agencies. It would make
conforming changes to align with the definitions in the aforementioned
chapter to ensure that patients can secure the healthcare they need,
without fear of facing financial ruin.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE STORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Retroactive to take effect on the same date and in the same manner as
Chapter 727 of 2023.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9438
IN ASSEMBLY
March 14, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law and the public health law, in
relation to the definition of medical debt
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (v) of section 380-a of the general business
2 law, as added by chapter 727 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (v) The term "medical debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation
5 of a consumer to pay any amount whatsoever related to the receipt of
6 health care services, products, or devices provided by a hospital
7 licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law, a health
8 care professional authorized under title eight of the education law, or
9 an ambulance service certified under article thirty of the public health
10 law. Medical debt does not include debt charged to a credit card unless
11 the credit card is issued under an open-ended or closed-ended plan
12 offered specifically for the payment of health care services, products,
13 or devices provided to a person.
14 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 4925 of the public health law, as added
15 by chapter 727 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
16 1. "Medical debt" means an obligation or alleged obligation of a
17 consumer to pay any amount whatsoever related to the receipt of health
18 care services, products, or devices provided to a person by a hospital
19 licensed under article twenty-eight of this chapter, a health care
20 professional authorized under title eight of the education law or an
21 ambulance service certified under article thirty of this chapter.
22 Medical debt does not include debt charged to a credit card unless the
23 credit card is issued under an open-ended or [closed-end] closed-ended
24 plan offered specifically for the payment of health care services,
25 products, or devices provided to a person.
26 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
27 have been in full force and effect on the same date and in the same
28 manner as chapter 727 of the laws of 2023 amending the public health law
29 and the general business law relating to prohibiting medical debt from
30 being collected by a consumer reporting agency or included in a consumer
31 report, takes effect.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13925-03-4
