Press Release
CSS Applauds Governor for Signing Critical Medical Debt Protection into Law
The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) applauds Governor Hochul for signing legislation today that will go a long way toward protecting New Yorkers from medical provider policies and practices that contribute to patient medical debt. By signing S.6522A/A7363A – legislation passed earlier this year in the NYS Senate and Assembly – the governor took a critical step in reining in nonprofit hospitals and other medical providers that pursue extraordinary medical debt actions that put the financial health of patients at risk.
Under the legislation signed today, patients will be protected from liens against their primary residence and wage garnishment due to money judgments arising from debt collection actions by hospitals or health care professionals.
Through a series of reports examining the pervasiveness of predatory medical debt collection practices deployed by many nonprofit hospitals in New York, CSS highlighted how extreme medical debt collection practices contribute to housing insecurity and jeopardize the physical and fiscal health of New Yorkers. We thank State Senator Gustavo Rivera and State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried for sponsoring the legislation and making its passage a priority in the 2022 legislative session. We also extend our thanks to the “End Medical Debt” coalition, a diverse group of 55 organizations that worked tirelessly to bring this issue to the attention of New York’s legislature.
Because of the governor’s actions today, many New York families will feel relief this Thanksgiving knowing that they can seek medical care without fear of financial ruin. We now urge her to sign S.2521C/A.3470C, another critical piece of legislation supported by the End Medical Debt campaign which would ban facility fees for all preventative care and require hospital-affiliated providers to inform patients in advance if they will be charged one.