The Medical Debt Mitigation Amendment Act of 2025 aims to alleviate the financial burden of unpaid medical bills on District families by enhancing transparency in medical billing and ensuring fair debt collection practices. The bill addresses the significant issue of medical debt affecting nearly 90,000 residents in the District and proposes measures to prevent future medical debt accumulation. Key provisions include strengthening financial assistance policies for large healthcare facilities, requiring them to establish uniform income eligibility criteria, and providing good faith estimates of healthcare costs prior to treatment. Additionally, the legislation mandates that facilities offer payment plans to low-income patients and prohibits the reporting of medical debt to credit reporting agencies.

The bill also updates medical debt collection practices by prohibiting wage garnishments and property liens for medical debt, as well as lawsuits against patients eligible for financial assistance. It grants enforcement powers to the Office of the Attorney General to ensure compliance with the new regulations. Furthermore, large healthcare facilities must report annually to the Department on financial assistance aspects, and the Department is tasked with establishing rules for screening patients for eligibility. The legislation emphasizes a proactive approach to mitigating medical debt, particularly in light of anticipated changes to public health insurance programs, and includes provisions for a fiscal impact statement to document the financial implications of the legislation.