Existing law provides requirements governing the collection of medical debt by a collection agency, including a requirement to provide certain notice to a medical debtor before taking action to collect and prohibiting certain actions to collect a medical debt. (NRS 649.366, 649.368) Section 13 of this bill prohibits a health care entity, which includes a medical facility, provider of health care or provider of emergency medical services, or a collection agency from reporting a medical debt to a consumer reporting agency and renders any portion of a medical debt that is so reported void. Section 13 requires a health care entity to include in any contract entered into with a collection agency for the purchase or collection of a medical debt provisions prohibiting the reporting of medical debt to a consumer reporting agency, voiding any portion of a medical debt that is reported to a consumer reporting agency and prohibiting certain collection actions that are prohibited by section 14 of this bill. Sections 14 and 19 of this bill prohibit a health care entity or collection agency from engaging in certain actions, or threatening to engage in certain actions, to collect a medical debt, including: (1) causing the arrest of a consumer; (2) obtaining a lien or foreclosing on real property of a consumer that includes the consumer's primary residence; (3) garnishing the wages of a consumer or any refund of federal income taxes due to a consumer; or (4) garnishing, attaching or seizing the bank account of a consumer. Section 15 of this bill prohibits a health care entity or collection agency from engaging in extraordinary collection actions until at least 180 days after the first bill for a medical debt is sent to a consumer and requires a notice that includes certain information to be sent to the consumer at least 30 days before any extraordinary collection action is taken. Section 6 of this bill defines the term “extraordinary collection action” to mean: (1) selling a medical debt to a collection agency; (2) deferring, denying or requiring payment before providing medically necessary care; or (3) any action that requires a legal or judicial process. Section 15 prohibits a health care entity or collection agency from engaging in extraordinary collection actions during a state of emergency, declaration of disaster or public health emergency or other health event with respect to the geographic area in which a consumer resides. Section 16 of this bill provides additional requirements for the collection of medical debts incurred for health care services, products or devices provided by a medical facility, including: (1) a prohibition on engaging in extraordinary collection actions unless such actions are described in the billing and collection policy of the medical facility; (2) a requirement to reverse any extraordinary collection actions if it is determined that the consumer is eligible for financial assistance that eliminates or would have eliminated the debt; and (3) requiring a consumer to be refunded within 60 days if, after the application of any financial assistance, a consumer had paid an amount in excess of the amount of the medical debt. Section 17 of this bill provides that the protections provided by sections 13-16 cannot be waived. Section 18 of this bill authorizes the Attorney General to institute legal proceedings against a person who has violated, is violating or is about to violate the provisions of sections 2-18 of this bill. Section 18 authorizes a district court to grant certain remedies in such a proceeding. Sections 3-12 define terms related to the collection of medical debts and section 2 makes those terms applicable to sections 13-18.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 649.368
BDR: 649.368