Bipartisan bill would help Ohioans pay off their medical debt, but not eliminate it

By Megan Henry
Ohio Capital Journal

A pair of Ohio House lawmakers want to help people pay off their medical debt.  

State Reps. Michele Grim, D-Toledo, and Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, are introducing the Ohio Medical Debt Fairness Act. 

The bill would lower the maximum interest rate for medical debt to 3% per year; prohibit hospitals, medical providers, and third-party collectors from reporting medical debt to credit agencies; and ban wage garnishment for medical debt collections. 

“Medical debt can happen to anyone,” Grim said Tuesday during a news conference. “No one chooses to get sick or injured. No one plans for a car accident, a cancer diagnosis or an unexpected hospital stay, and yet, for too many Ohioans, this is exactly how medical debt begins across our state.”

The bill, however, would not eliminate medical debt. 

“You’re still responsible for the debt, but it won’t ruin the rest of your life,” Schmidt said. “It will give Ohioans added safeguards so they can continue to get wealth and live a life that gives them the opportunity to be healthy, both physically, mentally and economically.”

Currently, if a medical bill goes to collections, patients can face an interest rate of 8% or higher, Grim said. 

“That’s predatory and unfair,” she said. “It’s outrageous that a visit to the ER can tank your credit score for years.” 

Twenty million Americans owe medical debt and people in the United States owe at least $220 billion in medical debt, according to data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. 

About 14 million people in the U.S. owe more than $1,000 in medical debt and about three million people owe more than $10,000 in medical debt, according to SIPP’s data.  

About 18% of Americans have medical debt that was turned over to a third party for collection, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2021.

“Medical debt occurs when you least expect it and are unprepared for the unexpected costs associated with it,” Grim said. “You might have insurance, but there are unintended costs that go outside of insurance.” 

Rachel Doan’s seven-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia back in 2010 and her family faced serious medical bills on top of unexpected expenses like gas, parking and food. Their first medical bill was $125,000. 

“You also have no choice over who walks into your child’s room,” Doan said. “They may or may not be in network. If they are not in network, you have no power to negotiate over them.” 

Fifteen years later, her family is still paying off her son’s medical bills. 

“There are some bills that I know I went to collections that are on my credit report, not for lack of me making monthly medical payments,” Doan said. “There’s only so much money I can make and keep my family together.”

Today, her son is a 22-year-old Ohio University senior, but he has long-term side effects from the treatments he received as a child. 

“There are times when things come up and he will call me worried, and he will not want to go seek medical attention because he’s worried about the financial cost,” Doan said. “I am scared to death that he will not seek medical treatment when he needs it because he is worried about the financial burden to himself.”

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