Minnesota Debt Fairness Act Introduced

In February of 2024, lawmakers in Minnesota introduced a proposal for consideration, called the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act, kicking off the legislative session for the year. They continued with this act, introducing legislation in both the House and Senate under HF 4100 and SF 4065 respectively.

The Minnesota Debt Fairness Act proposal, part of the larger Medical Debt Fairness Agenda, was introduced by Gov. Tim Walz according to a news release.

The proposal would impact many ways that hospitals and healthcare providers are able to recover revenue from patients, including:

• Ban medical debt from being reported to credit bureaus.
• Reduce interest on medical debts from eight to zero percent.
• Ban the withholding of medical services due to unpaid debt.
• Remove all medical debt creditors’ ability to intercept tax refunds through revenue recapture.
• Repeal statutory liability for one’s spouse’s medical debt.
• Require insurers to count copay assistance paid on behalf of a patient to count towards their annual deductible and out-of-pocket limits.
• Prohibit charging patients’ fees for coding errors.

The Minnesota Debt Fairness Act bill has been heard by the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, where various stakeholders including, the Minnesota Hospital Association, credit union representatives, consumers and attorneys spoke how the radical changes could have unintended consequences. In its current form, if the legislation moves forward, it would make Minnesota the only state with a three-year statute of limitations coupled with a five-year nonrenewable judgement.

The Minnesota Debt Fairness Act bill is in its early stages and Americollect will continue to keep you abreast of any changes. If you have questions, reach out to your Ridiculously Nice sales team by clicking “Contact Us” below!