Cancer Legal Care Official Statement on Proposed Minnesota Debt Fairness Act (HF 4100/SF 4065)
Walt Myers, Cancer Legal Care board member, shares his experience during the February 9, 2024 press conference held by Governor Tim Walz, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, MN Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Senator Sen. Liz Boldon RN, MSN, State Representative Liz Reyer, announcing introduction of the Medical Debt Fairness Act.
The Debt Fairness Act would:
• Ban medical debt from being reported to credit bureaus
• Reduce interest on medical debts from 8 to 0 percent
• Ban the withholding of medical services due to unpaid debt
• Remove all medical debt creditors’ ability to intercept tax refunds through revenue recapture
• Repeal statutory liability for one’s spouse’s medical debt
• Require insurers to count copay assistance paid on behalf of a patient to count towards their annual deductible and out-of-pocket limits
• Prohibit charging patients fees for coding errors
