Connecticut joins a growing list of states that have passed legislation making it harder to collect medical debt with SB 359.
On May 9, 2024, Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 395 into law, prohibiting healthcare providers and hospitals, as well as their collection agency partners, from reporting a patients’ medical debt to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) for the purpose of adding the information to their credit report on and after July 1, 2024. It also voids any portion of medical debt that is reported to the CRAs.
SB 359 defines medical debt as, “any obligation or alleged obligation or a consumer to pay any amount related to the receipt by the consumer of health care goods or services. SB 359 does not include debt charged to a credit card unless the credit card is issued under an open-end or closed-end credit plan offered specifically for the payment of charges related to health care goods or services.”
Going forward, healthcare providers in Connecticut must
include a provision within contracts with their collection agency partners that
prohibits credit reporting for any contract entered into on or after July 1,
2024.
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