HB 1302 — An Act providing for limitation on medical debt interest, for a penalty and for right to equitable relief.

PRINTER'S NO.   1496

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1302
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY KHAN, McNEILL, CURRY, PIELLI, BOROWSKI, DAVIDSON,
        GREEN, PROKOPIAK, GIRAL, WAXMAN, K.HARRIS, PROBST, HILL-
        EVANS, KINKEAD, HANBIDGE, BURGOS, HOHENSTEIN, SANCHEZ,
        DONAHUE, MERSKI, PARKER, NEILSON, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ AND RIVERA,
        APRIL 28, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, TECHNOLOGY AND
        UTILITIES, APRIL 28, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Providing for limitation on medical debt interest, for a penalty
 2      and for right to equitable relief.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5   Section 1.   Short title.
 6      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Medical Debt
 7   Interest Act.
 8   Section 2.   Definitions.
 9      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11   context clearly indicates otherwise:
12      "Health care provider."    Any of the following:
13          (1)   A health care provider, as defined in section 1201
14      of the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), known as The
15      Insurance Company Law of 1921.
16          (2)   An emergency medical services agency, as defined
 1      under 35 Pa.C.S. § 8103 (relating to definitions).
 2      "Medical debt."     An obligation to pay money arising from the
 3   receipt of health care services.
 4      "Medical debt collector."     One of the following:
 5            (1)   A person engaged in the business of collecting or
 6      attempting to collect, directly or indirectly, medical debts
 7      originally owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to
 8      another person.
 9            (2)   A person who purchases a medical debt for collection
10      purposes, whether the person collects the debt itself or
11      hires a third party for collection or an attorney for
12      litigation to collect the debt.
13   Section 3.     Limitation on medical debt interest.
14      No health care provider or medical debt collector in this
15   Commonwealth may charge an interest rate exceeding 6% on medical
16   debt.
17   Section 4.     Penalties.
18      (a)   Unfair or deceptive act or practice.--A violation of
19   section 3 constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice
20   under the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as
21   the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
22      (b)   Injunction.--An individual may bring an action in court
23   for injunctive or other appropriate equitable relief to enforce
24   the provisions of this act.
25   Section 5.     Effective date.
26      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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