Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is working with Democrats who control the General Assembly to put new restrictions on debt collectors seeking money for hospitals and doctors.
Debt collectors seeking to cash in on patients who owe money to hospitals and doctors often engage in behavior critics call predatory. That's why Jay Speer at the Virginia Poverty Law Center worked with lawmakers to create new restrictions on debt collectors.
"They buy these huge portfolios of debt, and they don't seem to have any proof of who owns what debt and for how much. But yet they get away with suing thousands of Virginians all year," says Speer. "And this is going to make it harder for them to get away with it because the original creditor, the hospital, the doctor, whatever, could end up being liable for what the debt buyers are doing."
The bill was introduced by Delegate Karrie Delaney, a Democrat from Fairfax County. The governor signed her bill, which will now become a law and help people who are recovering from a medical crisis and also struggling to make ends meet.
"Sometimes we've heard from patients who have had threats of arrest. That will no longer be lawful in Virginia," Delaney says. "It's going to ensure that real property cannot have a lien put on it, so you're not going to lose your home because of medical debt. And it also addresses wage garnishments to make sure that your income isn't being taken unjustly."
The bill covers existing medical debt, although it won't become a law until next summer.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
