HB 765: Medical Debt Protection Act; enact

Right now Georgia law does not set specific rules for how hospitals and other large healthcare facilities handle medical debt, interest charges, or aggressive collection tactics. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.20) that changes that. It requires large healthcare facilities to tell uninsured patients about medical assistance programs, bans interest and late fees on medical debt, and requires affordable payment plans for bills of $500 or more. The bill also delays collection actions, banning tactics like wage garnishment, property liens, and arrest for medical debt, and requiring a 120-day wait and 30-day notice before any allowed collection action begins. It protects spouses from automatic liability for a partner's medical debt, blocks debt collection while a health insurance appeal is pending, and delays credit reporting on medical debt for at least a year. Consumers could sue for injunctive relief if these rules are violated, and contracts cannot waive these protections in advance.

• Requires large healthcare facilities to give uninsured patients written notice about medical assistance programs at the time of service and on billing statements.
• Bans large healthcare facilities and medical debt collectors from charging interest, late fees, or prepayment penalties on medical debt.
• Requires affordable payment plans for medical debt of $500 or more, capped at 5 percent of a consumer's gross monthly income.
• Prohibits extraordinary collection actions like wage garnishment, bank account seizure, arrest, or property foreclosure to collect medical debt.
• Blocks medical creditors and debt collectors from pursuing or reporting medical debt while a related health insurance appeal is pending.
• Limits spousal liability for a partner's medical debt and requires parents to remain jointly liable only for debts of children under 18.

Georgia hospitals, nursing homes, freestanding emergency departments, and outpatient surgery centers classified as large healthcare facilities; medical debt collectors and debt buyers; uninsured and insured patients with medical bills; spouses and parents of patients; and health insurance appeal processes.

Patients facing medical bills would gain new protections against interest charges, aggressive collection tactics, and premature credit reporting, and would get more time and information before facing lawsuits or wage garnishment. Hospitals and debt collectors would need to change billing, notice, and collection practices to comply.

• New Code Section 10-1-393.20(b) requires large healthcare facilities to notify uninsured patients about medical assistance both at time of service and on billing statements.
• Subsection (c) bans interest and late fees on medical debt and requires payment plans capped at 5 percent of gross monthly income for debts of $500 or more.
• Subsection (d) bars extraordinary collection actions such as arrest, foreclosure, and wage or bank account garnishment, and requires a 120-day wait plus 30-day notice before allowed collection actions.
• Subsection (e) makes parents jointly liable for a minor child's medical debt but generally shields spouses from a partner's medical debt without separate written consent.
• Subsection (f) bars reporting medical debt to consumer reporting agencies for at least one year after the first bill, or three months after the last payment plan payment, whichever is later.
• Subsection (g) prohibits collection, credit reporting, or lawsuits over medical debt while a related health insurance appeal is pending or was pending in the last 60 days.
• Subsection (i) requires large healthcare facilities to provide free oral interpretation services for documents given to consumers under this section.
• Subsection (j) allows consumers to sue for injunctive or other equitable relief for violations and voids contract provisions that try to waive these rights in advance.

1. 2025-03-18House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-13House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-03-11House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Lisa Campbell (D, HD-035)Patrocinador principal
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
• Terry Cummings (D, HD-039)
• Esther Panitch (D, HD-051)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Mary Williams (D, HD-037)

• medical debt
• hospital billing
• consumer protection
• debt collection
• health insurance appeals