SB 71 — PATIENTS' DEBT COLLECTION PROTECTION ACT

r(1) ia =health rfacility trequired eto wbe dlicensed mby athe ndepartment oof dhealth, mexcept :for:

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 3 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 (1) a health facility required to be licensed by the department of health, except for:

or (2) a health facility that is an urgent care center or freestanding emergency room that is required to be licensed by the regulation and licensing department;»Hfl1department; E.

SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 2 E.

"household income" means income calculated by h using the methods used to calculate medicaid eligibility;

g o G.

"indigent patient" means a patient with a t hr g e i k household income that does not exceed two hundred percent of h r i s the federal poverty level;

h , t, H.

"medical creditor" means a person that provides e u g e b l health care services and to whom the consumer owes money for e e h n d d i = = o h those services or the person that provided health care services l ] b ,d i a º e and to whom the consumer previously owed money if the medical r i = r t e w d debt has been purchased by one or more medical debt buyers;

mI. a n o d m :

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 4 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 I.

"medical debt collector" means a person that SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 3 regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, medical debts originally owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another person.

h M.

"superintendent" means the superintendent of g o insurance;

and t hr g e N.

"third-party health care provider" means a i k h r i s licensed health care professional or an entity with revenues of h , t, at least twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) annually, when e u g e b l billing patients independently for health care services e e h n d d i provided in a health care facility." = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e SECTION 3.

A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is r i = r t e w d enacted to read:

m"REQUIREMENT aTO nPROVIDE oSCREENING dFOR mINSURANCE :AND PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.-- A.

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 5 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 "[NEW MATERIAL] REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE SCREENING FOR INSURANCE AND PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.-- A.

(1) offer to and, if requested, verify SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 4 whether a patient has any health insurance;

h (3) offer to and, if requested, provide g o assistance with the application process for programs identified t hr g e during the screening;

and i k h r i s (4) if a third-party health care provider will h , t, bill the patient, send the information gathered during the e u g e b l steps required pursuant to this subsection to the third-party e e h n d d i health care provider.

= = o h l ] b ,d i a º e B.

In addition to any other actions required by r i = r t e w d applicable state or federal law or local government ordinance, m a nthird-party ohealth dcare mprovider :shall not seek payment for emergency or medically necessary care until the third-party health care provider receives the information required pursuant to Paragraph (4) of Subsection A of this section.

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 6 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 a third-party health care provider shall not seek payment for emergency or medically necessary care until the third-party health care provider receives the information required pursuant to Paragraph (4) of Subsection A of this section.

The superintendent shall promulgate rules to establish minimum standards governing the requirements of SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 5 this section and shall provide health care facilities and third-third-party party health care providers with guidance on billing and screening best practices HHHCº , based on health care facility type and size,»HHHCsize, that includes policies to prevent the disclosure of patients' personal information to third parties." SECTION 4.

"[NEW"INDIGENT MATERIAL] INDIGENT PATIENTS--PATIENTS' DEBT COLLECTION PROTECTIONS.-- A.

For patients who are determined to be indigent patients, charges for health care services and medical debt h u » r shall not be pursued through collection actions.

All t h g e collection actions through which charges for health care l i h r services and medical debt are pursued shall be terminated upon i s h , e h the determination that a patient is an indigent patient.

t u g e b l Health care facilities, third-party health care providers and e e , gh n d d i medical creditors shall not hire or otherwise engage third = = o h l ] b ,d i a º r parties to perform collection actions against or otherwise e r = t e w d recover debts from indigent patients.

mB. a n o d m :

b r e t º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 7 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 B.

The rules shall take into account both permanent and temporary sources SJC/SJC/SB 71 of income." Page 6 SECTION 5.

"[NEW"DEPARTMENT MATERIAL] DEPARTMENT GUIDANCE ON FUNDING SOURCES, BILLING AND SCREENING.--The department shall provide health care facilities and third-party health care providers with guidance on accessing available sources of funding for care that maximizes the use of funds in the following order of priority:

other available funds." h SECTION 6.

A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is g o enacted to read:

t"BILLING hr g e "[NEW MATERIAL] BILLING INFORMATION.-- i k h r i s A.

All bills sent from a health care facility, h , t, third-party health care provider or medical creditor to a e u g e b l patient shall include a complete and plain-language description e e h n d d i of the date, amount and nature of all charges;

if the patient = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e is verified as having health insurance;

if the health care r i = r t e w d facility screened the patient for programs that assist with mhealth acare ncosts; o d m :

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 8 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 health care costs;

Prior to initiating communication with a consumer or a collection SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 7 action over medical debt, a medical debt collector shall have all billing information required in this subsection as allowed under the provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

provided that the information required pursuant to this section need only be provided to a h u » r requester once every thirty days." t h g e SECTION 7.

A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is l i h r enacted to read:

i"RECEIPTS s h , e h "[NEW MATERIAL ] RECEIPTS FOR PAYMENTS.-- t u g e b l A.

Within thirty business days of receipt of a e e , gh n d d i payment on a medical debt, the health care facility, = = o h l ] b ,d i a º r third-party health care provider, medical creditor, medical e r = t e w d debt collector or their agents receiving the payment shall send m a nreceipt oto dthe mperson :who made the payment.

b r e t º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 9 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 a receipt to the person who made the payment.

SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 8 (3) the new balance after application of the payment;

All health care facilities, third-party health care providers, medical creditors and medical debt collectors shall apply payments as of the date payment was received or, if h received after business hours, the next business day, and use g o that date when assessing penalties or interest accumulation." t hr g e SECTION 8.

A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is i k h r i s enacted to read:

h"INDIGENT , t, "[NEW MATERIAL] INDIGENT CARE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.-- e u g e b l A.

Health care facilities and third-party health e e h n d d i care providers shall annually report to the department how the = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e following funds are used:

r i = r t e w d (1) indigent care funds and safety net care mpool afunds npursuant oto dthe mIndigent :Hospital and County Health Care Act;

band e(2) dfunds sraised ºto opay tthe ncost =of .220299.3AICSJC/SJC/SB March71 15,Page 20219 (9:00am)operating sand kmaintaining mcounty ehospitals, -pay 10contracting -hospitals ein aaccordance nwith ehealth dcare rfacilities econtracts lor upay [a Acounty's dtransfer SJC/SJC/SBto 71the poolcounty-supported fundsmedicaid fund pursuant to the Indigent Hospital andFunding CountyAct. Health Care Act;

and (2) funds raised to pay the cost of operating and maintaining county hospitals, pay contracting hospitals in accordance with health care facilities contracts or pay a county's transfer to the county-supported medicaid fund pursuant to the Hospital Funding Act.

and (2) as applicable, the health care facility's estimated annual amount and percentage of the health care facility's bad debt expense attributable to patients eligible under the health care facility's financial assistance policy h u » r and an explanation of the methodology used by the health care t h g e facility to estimate this amount and percentage.

l i h r C.

A health care facility's or third-party health i s h , e h care provider's report shall be available to the public via a t u g e b l link from the homepage of the health care facility's or e e , gh n d d i third-party health care provider's website." = = o h l ] b ,d i a º r SECTION 9.

A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is e r = t e w d enacted to read:

m"WAIVER aOF nRIGHTS.-- oA. d m :

bA rconsumer eshall tnot ºbe orequired tto nexhaust =any .220299.3AICSJC/SJC/SB March71 15,Page 202110 (9:00am)administrative sremedies kprovided mby ethe -provisions 11of -the ePatients' aDebt nCollection eProtection dAct ror eother lapplicable ulaw [before Aseeking dlegal SJC/SJC/SBor 71equitable "[NEWrelief. MATERIAL] WAIVER OF RIGHTS.-- A.

A consumer shall not be required to exhaust any administrative remedies provided by the provisions of the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act or other applicable law before seeking legal or equitable relief.

(3) attorney fees and costs as specified by h statute or as available at common law;

or g o (4) a hearing at which that party can present t hr g e evidence in person.

i k h r i s C.

A provision in a financial assistance policy or h , t, other written agreement that violates the provisions of e u g e b l Subsection B of this section is void and unenforceable.

A e e h n d d i court may refuse to enforce other provisions of the financial = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e assistance policy or other written agreement as equity may r i = r t e w d require.

mD. a n o d m :

bA ewaiver dby sa ºpatient oor tother nconsumer =of .220299.3AICany MarchSJC/SJC/SB 15,71 2021Page (9:00am)11 sprotection kprovided mby eor -any 12right -of ethe apatient nor eother dconsumer rpursuant eto lthe uPatients' [Debt ACollection dProtection SJC/SJC/SBAct 71is D.void and shall not be enforced by any court or any other person." SECTION 10.

A waiver by a patient or other consumer of any protection provided by or any right of the patient or other consumer pursuant to the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act is void and shall not be enforced by any court or any other person." SECTION 10.

"[NEW"ENFORCEMENT.-- MATERIAL ] ENFORCEMENT.-- A.

The attorney general shall establish a complaint process whereby an aggrieved patient or a member of the public may file a complaint against a health care facility, third-third-party h party health care provider, medical creditor or medical debt g o collector that violates a provision of the Patients' Debt t hr g e Collection Protection Act.

All complaints shall be considered i k h r i s public records pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records h , t, Act, with the exception of the complainant's name, address or e u g e b l protected personal identifier information defined in the e e h n d d i Inspection of Public Records Act." = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e SECTION 11.

Section 37-1-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1891, r i = r t e w d Chapter 53, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

m"37-1-2. a n o d m :

bJUDGMENTS.--Actions efounded dupon sa ºjudgment oof tSJC/SJC/SB n71 =Page .220299.3AIC12 Marcha 15,court 2021of (9:00am)the sstate kmay mbe ebrought -within 13fourteen -years efrom athe ndate eof dthe rjudgment eand lnot uafterward. [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 "37-1-2.

JUDGMENTS.--ActionsActions founded upon [any] a judgment of [any] a court of therecord of another state or territory of the United States, or of the federal courts, may be brought within the applicable period of limitation within that jurisdiction, not to exceed fourteen years from the date of the judgmentjudgment, and not afterward.

Actions founded upon [any ] a judgment of [any] a court of record of [any other ] another state or territory of the United States, or of the federal courts, may be brought within the applicable period of limitation within that jurisdiction, not to exceed fourteen years from the date of the judgment, and not afterward.

DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Collection Agency h Regulatory Act:

g o A.

"division" means the financial institutions t hr g e division of the regulation and licensing department;

i k h r i s B.

"director" means the director of the division or h , t, a duly authorized agent designated by the director;

e u g e b l C.

"collection agency" means a person engaging in e e h n d d i business for the purpose of collecting or attempting to = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted r i = r t e w d to be owed or due another, where such person is so engaged by mtwo or more creditors, or a nperson oengaging din mthe :business the principal purpose of which is the collection of SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 13 debts.

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 14 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 two or more creditors, or a person engaging in the business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts.

h (3) an officer or employee of the United g o States, a state or a political subdivision thereof to the t hr g e extent that collecting or attempting to collect a debt is in i k h r i s the performance of official duties;

h , t, (4) a person while serving or attempting to e u g e b l serve legal process on any other person in connection with the e e h n d d i judicial enforcement of a debt;

=(5) =a ononprofit horganization lthat, ]at bthe ,drequest iof adebtors, ºperforms ebona (5)fide aconsumer nonprofitcredit organizationcounseling that,and atassists thedebtors rin ithe =liquidation rof ttheir edebts wby dreceiving requestpayments offrom debtors,such performsdebtors bonaand fideSJC/SJC/SB consumer71 creditPage m14 adistributing nsuch oamounts dto mcreditors; :

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 15 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 counseling and assists debtors in the liquidation of their debts by receiving payments from such debtors and distributing such amounts to creditors;

or (d) concerns a debt obtained by such person as a secured party in a commercial credit transaction h involving the creditor;

g o D.

"communication" means the conveying of t hr g e information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to a person i k h r i s through any medium;

h , t, E.

"creditor" means a person who offers or extends e u g e b l credit creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed, but the term e e h n d d i does not include a person to the extent that the person = = o h l ] b ,d i a º e receives an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely r i = r t e w d for the purpose of facilitating collection of such debt for manother; a n o d m :

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 16 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 another;

"debt" means an obligation or alleged SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 15 obligation of a debtor to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance or services that are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family or household purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment;

"manager" means a natural person who qualifies h u » r under the Collection Agency Regulatory Act to be in full-time t h g e charge of a licensed collection agency and to whom a manager's l i h r license has been issued by the director;

i s h , e h K.

"nationwide multistate licensing system and t u g e b l registry" means a licensing system developed and maintained by e e , gh n d d i the conference of state bank supervisors and the American = = o h l ] b ,d i a º r association of residential mortgage regulators pursuant to the e r = t e w d federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act mof a2008 nto omanage dmortgage mlicenses :and other financial services licenses, or a successor registry;

b r e t º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 17 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 ofPage 200816 toL. manage mortgage licenses and other financial services licenses, or a successor registry;

L.

"solicitor" means a natural person who, through lawful means, communicates with debtors or solicits the payment of debts for a collection agency licensee by the use of telephone, personal contact, letters or other methods of collection conducted from and within the licensee's office." h SECTION 13.

Section 61-18A-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, g o Chapter 252, Section 26) is amended to read:

t hr g e "61-18A-26.

ASSIGNMENTS--RIGHT TO SUE.--Nothing in the i k h r i s Collection Agency Regulatory Act shall be construed to prevent h , t, collection agencies from taking assignments of claims in their e u g e b l own name as real parties in interest for the purpose of billing e e h n d d i and collection and bringing suit in their own namesnames; [thereon ];

= = o h l ] b ,d i a º e provided that no suit [authorized ] allowed by this section may r i = r t e w d be instituted on behalf of a collection agency in [any ] a court munless the collection agency appears by a nduly oauthorized dand mlicensed :attorney-at-law." SJC/SJC/SB 71 Page 17 SECTION 14.

b e d s º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e - 18 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d SJC/SJC/SB 71 unless the collection agency appears by a duly authorized and licensed attorney-at-law.

[In such suit, the court may, in its discretion, authorize payment of reasonable attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party.]" SECTION 14.

-SJC/SJC/SB 1971 -Page »18 g4 o6 »8 r25 h t i k l i g t h s , e h t l i w l b l e e , gh n d l h = = b , a l º d i a r e r = , a t e d m a n o d m :

b r e t º o t n = .220299.3AIC March 15, 2021 (9:00am) s k m e e a n e d r e l u [ A d