The proposed bill aims to enhance consumer protection by prohibiting the reporting of medical debt to credit reporting agencies, effective July 1, 2025. It establishes a new section, W.S. 40-12-115, which defines key terms such as "collection entity," "credit report," "credit reporting agency," "health care product," "health care services," "medical debt," and "medical facility." Under this new provision, medical facilities and collection entities are barred from reporting any medical debt to credit reporting agencies, and violations of this prohibition may result in civil penalties equivalent to the amount of the reported medical debt.

Additionally, the bill amends W.S. 40-12-102(a)(x) to include the new section in the definition of "this act." It also clarifies that the act does not affect any contracts made prior to the effective date of July 1, 2025. Overall, the legislation seeks to protect consumers from the negative impacts of medical debt on their credit reports, thereby promoting fairer treatment in the realm of credit reporting.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 40-12-102