As the Trump administration reduced the federal efforts to protect Americans from indescribable medical expenses, advocates for patients and consumers turned their work to include the state’s medical debt problems as the state parliament.
However, despite the progress in most Blue stocks this year, recent frustrations in more conservative legislators emphasize continuous difficulties in strengthening patient protection.
This year, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming have faced an industry opposition party. And advocates warn that the nations should increase to the next level because millions of Americans are expected to lose their coverage due to President Donald Trump’s taxes and spending.
Kate Ende, the policy director of the main -based consumer for low health care, said, “This is a problem that I liked before the Washington administration changed.” Federal fullback has become much more important for us to do something. “
This year, Maine is a major protection that can be easily obtained by consumers, automobiles, or sometimes a job by joining the state list that banned medical debt in the resident’s credit report. that The measurement was unanimously passed With this support.
About 100 million adults in the United States have any type of health care debt.
The federal government was ready to prohibit medical debt in the credit report in accordance with the regulations issued on the debilitory of former President Joe Biden. It would have helped about 15 million people nationwide.
The Trump administration, however, did not defend the regulations in litigation filed by debt collectors and creditors who claimed that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau exceeded the authority when issuing the rules. Texas’s federal judge, appointed by Trump, ruled that the regulations should be abandoned.
Now, only the patient in the week of enacting his credit reporting rules will benefit from such protection. More than 12 restrictions, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont, have enacted this year’s ban.
In recent years, more states have passed other medical debt protection in recent years, and the limit on how much interest on such debt can be charged, wage decoration and wage decoration and property library.
In many cases, medical debt rules have gained both suits, reflecting the overwhelming popularity of these consumer protection. In Virginia, he is a conservative Republican governor this year. Signed to action Limit wages and interest rates.
Many GOP lawmakers in California joined the Democratic Party. Support for action It is easy for the patient to access the hospital’s financial support for a large bill.
“This is a kind of common pocket problem that appeals to Republicans and Democrats.
But in several international houses, drives for more protection touched the wall.
The bill that prohibits medical debt in the credit report failed. Wioming and South DakotaDespite the support of some GOP lawmakers. Restrictions on aggressive collections of residents with medical debt have been derailed. Indiana,,, Montanaand Nevada.
In some states, this measure faced strict opposition from debt collectors, credit reporting industries and banks, and parliament could provide a dangerous loan to consumers without information on medical debt.
In the main, the Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents the Credit Management Bureau, I told lawmakers Medical debt regulations should be left to the federal government. Zachaary Taylor, a government -related director of the group, said, “Only national unification standards can achieve a double goal of protecting consumers and maintaining the exact credit report.
South Dakota, Republican Ceremony, Lana Greenfield, reflected the opposition from the industry, calling his colleagues to vote against the ban on credit reporting. Greenfield said in the House Floor, “Small town banks could not get information about large mega medical expenses.
Biden administration CFPB researchers discovered The medical debt was not a good predictor of credit, unlike other debt.
However, Brian Mullder, the leader of the Republican Committee, who was chairman of the Health Committee and wrote legislation, mentioned the authority of the banking industry of South Dakota, which has become a magnet of financial institutions due to the favorable regulations.
In Montana, a law that protects some of the debtor’s assets from protection has easily passed the committee. The supporters hoped that the bill would be especially helpful for the Native Americans who had been unbalanced by medical debt.
But when the bill arrived at the House of Representatives, the opponents spoke one -on -one with Republican lawmakers before the voting, and the opponents said, “It appeared in large quantities.” “They voted enough to defeat the bill narrowly,” he said.
Advocates for patients and legislators who have supported some of these measures are optimistic that they will be able to overcome the opposition parties in the future.
And there is a signal that the law for expanding patient protection can enter other conservative countries, including Ohio and Texas. no way Texas We have been supported by major conservative organizations to force non -profit organizations to expand their aid to patients facing large legislation.
“These things can sometimes take time. Patient groups have recently promoted state medical debt protection, including Montana and South Dakota.
CULP said that due to the recent cuts of the GOP tax law, the wave of unexpected insurance patients when millions of Americans lose their health insurance benefits. It will almost definitely make the country’s medical debt problem more severe.
“The state is not ready,” CULP said.
