HCASB414 4875 5654 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS Regular Session ENROLLEDAmendmentsproposedbyHouseCommitteeonCommerceto SENATEReengrossedSenateBill BILLNo. NO.

414by BYSenator SENATORTalbot TALBOTAMENDMENT ANDNO. REPRESENTATIVES CARVER, CHASSION, FISHER, FREEMAN,JACKSON,KERNER,MANDIELANDRY,MARCELLE, MARTINEZ, RISER AND STAGNI AN ACT To enact Chapter 15 of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be comprised of R.S.

51:15011 throughOn 1504,page relative1, toline medical11, debtbefore protection;"Louisiana" insert a quotation mark """ AMENDMENT NO.

to2 createOn page 1, line 12, after "Act" and before the Louisianaperiod Medical"." Debtinsert Protectiona Act;quotation mark """ AMENDMENT NO.

to3 provideOn relativepage to1, interestline rate14, limitations;delete "shall" AMENDMENT NO.

to4 provideOn forpage an1, effectiveline date;17, after "services" insert a comma "," AMENDMENT NO.

and5 toOn providepage for2, relatedline matters.4, change "(2)" to "(2)(a)" AMENDMENT NO.

Be6 itOn enactedpage by2, thedelete Legislatureline of7 Louisiana:in its entirety and insert in lieu thereof the following:

Section"(b) 1."Medical debt" does not include either of the following:" AMENDMENT NO.

Chapter7 15On ofpage Title2, 51line of8, thechange Louisiana"(a)" Revisedto Statutes"(i)" ofAMENDMENT 1950,NO. comprised of R.S.

51:15018 throughOn 1504,page is2, herebyline enacted10, change "(b)" to read"(ii)" asAMENDMENT follows:NO.

CHAPTER9 15.On page 2, line 16, change "health care" to "healthcare" Page 1 of 1 CODING:

MEDICALWordsinstruckthroughtypearedeletionsfromexistinglaw;wordsunderscored DEBTare PROTECTIONSadditions. §1501.

Short title This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Louisiana Medical Debt Protection Act".

§1502.

Definitions As used in this Chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) "Medical creditor" means any entity that provides healthcare services and to whom the consumer owes money for healthcare services, or the entity that provided healthcare services and to whom the consumer previously owed money if the medical debt has been purchased by one or more debt Page 1 of 3 Coding:

Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;

words in boldface type and underscored are additions.

SB NO.

414 ENROLLED buyers.

(2)(a) "Medical debt" means debt arising from healthcare services, including products, devices, durable medical equipment, and prescription drugs, and from the provisions of transportation to healthcare services.

(b) "Medical debt" does not include either of the following:

(i) An open-end or closed-end extension of credit made by a federally insured financial institution, its subsidiaries, or affiliates.

(ii) A debt charged to a credit card.

(3)"Medicaldebtcollector"meansanypersonthatregularlycollectsor attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, medical debts originally owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another.

A medical debt buyer shall be considered a medical debt collector for all purposes.

(4) "Medically necessary care" means healthcare services, products, or medications that a licensed healthcare provider determines are necessary to prevent, diagnose, or treatan illness, injury, disease, or its symptoms, and that meet accepted standards of care.

§1503.

Interest rate limitation Interestonmedicaldebtarising frommedically necessarycareshallnot exceed three percent per annum.

Any contractual provision imposing a higher rate is void.

§1504.

Enforcement A.

The attorneygeneral may enforcethe provisions of this Chapter and seek civil penalties.

B.

The attorney general shall establish a complaint process whereby an aggrieved consumer or any member of the public may file a complaint against a medical creditor or medical debt collector who violates any provision of this Chapter.

All complaints shall be considered public records pursuant to R.S.

44:1 et seq., with the exception of the complainant's name, address, or other personal identifying information, which shall be considered confidential and redacted from the complaint.

Page 2 of 3 Coding:

Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;