This bill, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, would cancel existing medical debt and establish new protections for patients. It creates a federal grant program for hospitals to eliminate eligible medical debt owed by patients, with priority given to safety net hospitals that serve low-income populations and cancel debt from emergency care that is 15 months old or less. The program must begin awarding grants within one year and expand to include other healthcare providers and individuals within two years. The legislation also imposes new requirements on healthcare providers, prohibiting them from collecting interest on past-due medical bills, requiring advance notice of financial assistance options, and limiting what uninsured patients at nonprofit hospitals can be charged. Additionally, the bill bans debt collectors from pursuing medical debts incurred before the law's enactment and removes medical debt from credit reports. The bill does not specify total funding amounts, but directs the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the program and report to Congress on its progress annually beginning two years after enactment.
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