The house committee discusses two bills aimed at medical debt – Dakota News now

Pierre, SD (Dakota News now) – a month after the decision of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, termination of the inclusion of medical debt in credit reports, medical debt heads today’s meeting of the Committee on Health and Human Services.

A state representative hoped to make medical debt less than the weight through two different bills.

The first item of Brian Mulder, House Bill 1058 will ban the reporting medical debt of a consumer reporting agency, which gives credit results.

“The situation I think about is when you have someone who needs a car, for example, the problem is, if they have a much lower credit rating, they pay a much higher interest rate,” Mulder said.

The opponents expressed concern that this bill would only harm those who rely on the most accurate credit reporting.

“Medical debt, when left undeclared, can create an incomplete picture of the individual’s financial status, influencing the decisions to grant loans and to create unwanted consequences for the wider economy. Creditors, landowners and even employers rely on credit history to evaluate the ability to risk and repay, “said Karl Adam, the President of the South Dakota Bankers Association.

MulDer’s second bill, the house’s bill 1210 would ban hospitals from reporting medical debt to debt collectors, supporters claim that hospitals do not always act within their own policies.

“These unjustified collection actions cause stress that causes harm, and South Dakota’s law is currently nothing to protect people from these experiences,” says Dan Bacon, a representative of the leukemia and lymphoma society.

Opponents have shoved this claim and acknowledged that hospitals were making efforts to help relieve medical debt.

“Hospitals in this country last year provided $ 134 million in charity care and $ 73 million charity care that was not covered by the cost of restoring Medicaid, so hospitals play their role, I believe they help those people who do not have this ability For payment, “said Tim Rave, a representative of the Association of Health Organizations in South Dakota.

The House 1058 bill passed 9-4 votes; However, the House Bill 1210 was moved on the 41st day to 10-3 votes.

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