NY State Senate Bill S4907

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 17, 2023	referred to health

Co-Sponsors

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 49-A §§4925 - 4927, Pub Health L; amd §§380-a & 380-j, Gen Bus L

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits medical debt from being collected by a consumer reporting agency or included in a consumer report and prohibits medical service providers from reporting medical debt directly or indirectly to a consumer reporting agency.

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S4907

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law and the general business law, in
relation to prohibiting medical debt from being collected by a consumer
reporting agency or included in a consumer report

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prohibit hospitals, medical providers or ambulance services from
providing adverse information about medical debt to consumer reporting
agencies.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 enacts a new Article 51 to the public health.

Section 5100 defines the terms "medical debt" and "collection entity."

Section 5100-a(1) prohibits hospitals, medical providers or ambulance

services from furnishing any portion of a medical debt to a consumer
reporting agency.

Section 5100-a(2) requires hospitals, medical providers, or ambulance
services to include a provision in their contracts with collection enti-
ties a prohibition on the reporting any portion of a medical debt to a
consumer reporting agency.

Section 5100-b voids any medical debt that is furnished to a collection
agency by a hospital, medical provider or ambulance service.

Section 2 is the effective date.

Section 3 amends the General Business law as follows:

General Business Law Section 380-a(v) provides a new definition for the
term "medical debt."

General Business Law Section 380-j is amended to include a new section
(a)(3) to include medical debt as prohibited information that can be
reported to a consumer reporting agency.

General Business Law Section 380-j(f)(1) is amended to include a new
subsection viii that prohibits a consumer reporting agency to make a
consumer report containing any information about a medical debt.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would protect New Yorkers from medical debt by prohibiting the
reporting of medical bills to to credit reporting agencies.

Medical debt is a serious problem afflicting 100 million Americans (41%
of the population). Medical debt is not an equal opportunity problem:
28% of African Americans and 22% of Latinx people carry medical debt
versus 22% of White people. This debt ruins patients' financial well-be-
ing with 58% of all third-party debt collection tradelines were for
medical debt, meaning that medical debt is the most common form of
recorded debt. Medical billing is both confusing and difficult to navi-
gate. Pricing is opaque and insurance payments are bewildering. A New
York poll shows that 41% of New Yorkers have either appealed a medical
bill or paid one they don't think they owe for fear of being sued or
placed into collections. Another 38% avoided care or sacrificed other
necessities because of the cost of health care.

After billing, providers or their collection entities often send unpaid
accounts to third-party credit reporting agencies. These reporting agen-
cies do not have access to provider and insurance records and make it
difficult for patients to either confirm the accuracy of their debt or
to make corrections if there is a billing reporting error. The federal
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has found that medical debt is less
predictive of a consumer's ability to pay future bills than any other
tradeline appearing on consumer reports. This problem has serious impli-
cations, a bad credit record can make it impossible for a patient to
rent a home, buy a car, or secure a loan for a home repair or educa-
tional opportunity.

This bill protects patients from being punished for doing the right
thing: taking care of their or their family members' physical or mental
health. While the credit reporting agencies have voluntarily agreed to
not report medical debts below $500, this does not protect patients in
New York State, where healthcare prices are notoriously high and
increasing quickly with inflation. In recognition of the need to further
protect patients from medical debt reporting, the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau ruled in 2022 that state laws prohibiting medical debt
reporting would not be preempted by federal collection laws.

This bill will help ensure that patients are able to secure the health-
care they need, without fear of facing financial ruin.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.   
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.   
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4907
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law and the general business  law,  in
   relation to prohibiting medical debt from being collected by a consum-
   er reporting agency or included in a consumer report

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "fair medical debt reporting act".
   §  2. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 49-A to
 read as follows:
 
                               ARTICLE 49-A
                          MEDICAL DEBT REPORTING
 SECTION 4925. DEFINITIONS.
         4926. MEDICAL  DEBT  REPORTING  PROHIBITED  IN  CONTRACTS   WITH
                 COLLECTION ENTITIES.
         4927. ENFORCEMENT.
   §  4925.  DEFINITIONS.  AS  USED  IN THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING TERMS
 SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   1. "MEDICAL DEBT" MEANS AN  OBLIGATION  OR  ALLEGED  OBLIGATION  OF  A
 CONSUMER  TO  PAY ANY AMOUNT WHATSOEVER RELATED TO THE RECEIPT OF HEALTH
 CARE SERVICES, PRODUCTS, OR DEVICES PROVIDED TO A PERSON BY  A  HOSPITAL
 LICENSED  UNDER  ARTICLE  TWENTY-EIGHT  OF  THIS  CHAPTER, A HEALTH CARE
 PROFESSIONAL AUTHORIZED UNDER TITLE EIGHT OF THE  EDUCATION  LAW  OR  AN
 AMBULANCE SERVICE CERTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE THIRTY OF THIS CHAPTER.
   2. "COLLECTION ENTITY" MEANS ANY INDIVIDUAL, PARTNERSHIP, CORPORATION,
 TRUST,  ESTATE,  CO-OPERATIVE,  ASSOCIATION,  GOVERNMENT  OR  GOVERNMENT
 SUBDIVISION, AGENCY OR OTHER ENTITY THAT EITHER PURCHASES  MEDICAL  DEBT
 OR COLLECTS MEDICAL DEBT ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER ENTITY.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09626-02-3
 S. 4907                             2

 
   3.  "CONSUMER  REPORTING  AGENCY"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS SUCH
 TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-A OF THE  GENERAL  BUSI-
 NESS LAW.
   § 4926. MEDICAL DEBT REPORTING PROHIBITED IN CONTRACTS WITH COLLECTION
 ENTITIES.  A  HOSPITAL LICENSED UNDER ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAP-
 TER, A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL AUTHORIZED  UNDER  TITLE  EIGHT  OF  THE
 EDUCATION LAW, OR AN AMBULANCE SERVICE CERTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE THIRTY OF
 THIS CHAPTER:
   1.  SHALL  NOT  FURNISH  ANY  PORTION  OF A MEDICAL DEBT TO A CONSUMER
 REPORTING AGENCY; AND
   2. SHALL INCLUDE A PROVISION IN  ANY  CONTRACT  ENTERED  INTO  WITH  A
 COLLECTION  ENTITY  FOR  THE PURCHASE OR COLLECTION OF MEDICAL DEBT THAT
 PROHIBITS THE REPORTING OF ANY PORTION OF SUCH MEDICAL DEBT TO A CONSUM-
 ER REPORTING AGENCY.
   § 4927. ENFORCEMENT. ANY PORTION OF A MEDICAL DEBT THAT  IS  FURNISHED
 TO A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY SHALL BE VOID.
   §  3. Section 380-a of the general business law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision (v) to read as follows:
   (V) THE TERM "MEDICAL DEBT" MEANS ANY OBLIGATION OR ALLEGED OBLIGATION
 OF A CONSUMER TO PAY ANY AMOUNT WHATSOEVER RELATED  TO  THE  RECEIPT  OF
 HEALTH  CARE  SERVICES,  PRODUCTS,  OR  DEVICES  PROVIDED  BY A HOSPITAL
 LICENSED UNDER ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW,  A  HEALTH
 CARE  PROFESSIONAL AUTHORIZED UNDER TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION LAW, OR
 AN AMBULANCE SERVICE CERTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE THIRTY OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH
 LAW.
   § 4. Subdivision (a) of section 380-j of the general business law,  as
 added by chapter 867 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  No consumer reporting agency shall report or maintain in the file
 on a consumer, information:
   (1) relative to an arrest or a criminal charge unless there has been a
 criminal conviction for such offense, or unless such charges  are  still
 pending,
   (2) relative to a consumer's race, religion, color, ancestry or ethnic
 origin, [or]
   (3) RELATIVE TO A MEDICAL DEBT AS DEFINED IN THIS STATUTE; OR
   (4) which it has reason to know is inaccurate.
   §  5. Subparagraphs (vii) and (viii) of paragraph 1 of subdivision (f)
 of section 380-j of the general business law, as added by chapter 867 of
 the laws of 1977, are amended to read as follows:
   (vii) information relating to past confinement in a mental institution
 where the date of last confinement antedates the  report  by  more  than
 seven years; [or]
   (viii)  INFORMATION  RELATING TO A MEDICAL DEBT REGARDLESS OF THE DATE
 IT WAS INCURRED; OR
   (IX) any other adverse information which antedates the report by  more
 than seven years.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S4907

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Your Voice

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Co-Sponsors

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Details

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S4907

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Sponsored By

Gustavo Rivera

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Co-Sponsors

Cordell Cleare

Kristen Gonzalez

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Liz Krueger

Rachel May

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Details

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S4907 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments