By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer
Minnesota’s top elected officials are advocating for changes to the state’s medical debt collection laws.
Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Attorney General Keith Ellison called on the Legislature Friday to prevent medical debt from being automatically transferred to surviving spouses; block medical debt from accruing interest or being reported to credit bureaus; and prohibit health care providers from denying care to a patient with outstanding bills, among other changes.
The proposal would also ban health care providers from billing patients for coding errors and from collecting payment through “revenue recapture” — taking a patient’s tax refund — said Rep. Liz Reyer, DFL-Eagan, who will carry the bill in the House.
“Medical debt isn’t like a mortgage or car loan. You apply for those. You seek them out,” Ellison said. “But you don’t apply for medical debt — you incur it because you have no other choice.”
Sen. Liz Boldon, DFL-Rochester, who will author the Senate legislation, said the bill is not yet complete and declined to release a draft.
Half of the civil cases in Minnesota courts are related to medical debt, Ellison said.
Since 2005, the attorney general’s office has maintained an agreement with most Minnesota hospitals that clarifies and places guidelines on medical billing.
In 2023, Ellison opened an investigation into Allina Health’s billing practices after a New York Times article revealed the health care provider cutting off care for patients with outstanding bills. Allina stopped the practice last summer.
Ellison is also investigating Mayo Clinic’s billing practices, based on reporting in the Rochester Post-Bulletin that the hospital sued low-income patients who were eligible for charity care.
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