Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 8 is the third iteration of a bill aimed at protecting patients from unfair debt collection practices for medical debt.
This includes prohibiting large healthcare facilities from charging interest and late fees, requiring facilities to offer reasonable payment plans, and preventing the reporting of medical debt to consumer reporting agencies for at least 1 year.
The final form of this bill includes more clarifications on which medical providers and companies are affected, timelines, and what does and does not count as medical debt.
The Delaware Healthcare Association, which represents the state’s largest healthcare providers, weighed in on crafting the final language to help make its implementation easier from an operating standpoint.
DHA Vice President Meghan McNamara Williams says one key provision creates standards for communication on billing, including standardizing the process of connecting patients to financial assistance resources.
“We know that a lot of individuals across the state receive care from more than one healthcare system. And so as you navigate that, and certainly any billing associated with it, I think having a standard approach will help the consumer better understand that process, and will also really help to make it move more efficiently for folks,” she explained.
The bill’s prime sponsor, State Senator Spiros Mantzavinos, makes it clear that the bill will not stop debt collection, just ensure patients aren’t unfairly burdened by it.
“It can be overwhelming. I think we've all experienced getting those bills and trying to figure out how we're going to pay them,” said Mantzavinos. “But, you know, the sooner that you can have a conversation with your insurance company, with the financial aid services that are offered through the healthcare facilities, the better. Staying on that is probably the best solution I would recommend for people to try to stay on top of debt. This [bill] is just to put on some guardrails when it comes to predators, and debt collections, and that sort of thing.”
In December 2020, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated 17.4% of Delawareans have medical debt with the total debt held by Delawareans around $401 million.
Studies cited by the Biden Administration have also found that individuals with medical debt tend to intentionally avoid seeking further medical care.
SS2 for SB8 was signed into law earlier this week, and goes into effect in 6 months.
