Tag: Medical Debt
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Researchers to study universal health care, as Coloradans face $1 billion in medical debt
Colorado residents owe about $1 billion in medical debt. The sky-high number is a small portion of the nation’s medical debt estimated around $220 billion, according to a 2024 analysis by Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation. As more people nationally are expected to lose their health insurance following planned…
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Colorado Senate OKs enforcing price transparency for hospitals
The Colorado Senate approved a bill Wednesday to allow the state to enforce federal laws requiring hospitals to publicly post prices online. Under Senate Bill 252, hospitals must maintain a public list of at least 300 shoppable services and regularly report to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which will monitor compliance. Violations of…
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Colorado House OKs removing medical debt from credit scores, reports
More than 700,000 Coloradans have medical debt. A new bill is seeking to remove that debt from their credit scores and credit reports. The state House of Representative passed House Bill 1126 on Tuesday. If enacted, the bill would prohibit consumer reporting agencies in Colorado from including medical debt in credit reports and require debt…
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Colorado bill would cap medical debt interest, implement other consumer protections
Cindy Powers underwent emergency surgery to fix a life-threatening abdominal obstruction in 2004. Over the next five years, she received 18 additional surgeries to address complications, infections and hernias, before her condition was finally fixed in 2009. But while her medical nightmare had come to an end, the financial nightmare was just beginning. Even with…
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Colorado hospitals to screen low-income patients for discounts, cap monthly billings
Beginning on Thursday, Colorado hospitals must screen low-income patients for discounts or public health insurance programs and limit the monthly medical bills they can be charged. Eligible Coloradans include those with household incomes at or under 250% of the federal poverty level — up to $69,375 for a family of four. If a patient is…
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Colorado bans hospitals from pursuing debt collection without price transparency
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Hospitals in Colorado will soon face a ban on pursuing debt collections against patients if they do not post their prices online – thanks to legislation signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday. Beginning in August, House Bill 1285 prohibits hospitals not following federal…
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Colorado legislature OKs banning medical debt collection without price transparency
Hospitals in Colorado could soon be banned from pursuing debt collections against patients if they do not post their prices online, thanks to legislation passed by state lawmakers on Tuesday. If enacted, House Bill 1285 would prohibit hospitals not following federal price transparency laws from using debt collectors, filing negative credit reports against patients and…
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Colorado House passes bill to ban medical debt collection without price transparency
The state House passed a bill Tuesday to ban hospitals from pursuing debt collections against patients if the hospitals are not in compliance with a federal law that requires them to post prices online. If enacted, House Bill 1285 would prohibit noncompliant hospitals from using debt collectors, filing negative credit reports against patients and obtaining…
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Colorado legislators advance bill to ban medical debt collection without price transparency
Under federal law, hospitals are required to post prices online to allow patients to compare costs between hospitals. Now, a Colorado bill is seeking to ban hospitals from pursuing debt collections against patients if they’re not in compliance with the federal statute. If enacted, House Bill 1285 would prohibit noncompliant hospitals from using debt collectors,…
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UCHealth patients sue debt collection agency over ‘predatory’ practices
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Two Colorado residents and UCHealth patients filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Denver District Court against the hospital’s debt collection agency over unfair and intrusive practices. The lawsuit against Credit Services Company, Inc. — in…