Delaware General Assembly

Lieu/Substituted 6/13/23

Adopted in Lieu of original; takes status of original

SB 8

5/9/23

Mantzavinos

Rep. K. Williams

Sen. Gay, Hansen, Hoffner, Huxtable, Lawson, S. McBride, Poore, Townsend
Reps. Heffernan, K. Johnson, Lambert, Morrison, Wilson-Anton

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MEDICAL DEBT.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 8. Like Senate Bill No. 8, this act protects patients from unfair debt collection practices for medical debt, including prohibiting large health care facilities from charging interest and late fees, requiring facilities to offer reasonable payment plans, limiting the sale of debt to debt collectors unless an agreement is made to keep protections in place, providing minimum time before certain collections actions may be taken, limiting liability for the medical debt of others, and preventing the reporting of medical debt to consumer credit reporting agencies for at least one year after the debt was incurred. Violations of the provisions of this Act are considered Prohibited Trade Practices and Consumer Fraud violations. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 8 as it requires large health-care facilities to provide information to uninsured patients regarding eligibility and the application process for medical assistance. This information must be provided at the time of service or prior to discharge and again with each billing statement. It also creates a minimum threshold for eligibility for payment plans, and it reduces the timeframe in which a bill under a payment plan may be first due. This Act also defines “medical assistance” and “time of service,” which were not defined in Senate Bill No. 8.

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Takes effect upon being signed into law

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