The nationwide trend of protecting patients from the impact of medical debt continues as The State of California just passed legislation that prohibits the reporting of medical debt to consumer credit reporting agencies as of January 2025. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also proposed a rule change that would prevent “almost any medical debt from appearing on credit reports”. To this point, HuTech Resource recommends all practices consider an update to their financial policies related to self-pay balances that includes a requirement to keep a credit card on file, and the agreement / authorization to process payments once a balance comes due. Patients are increasingly aware of the lessened “weight” being given to medical debts, and are communicating their disregard when talking with our billing department team. Practices need to get in front of this trend, and secure a self-pay payment agreement as part of the patient intake process. Please contact HuTech for assistance in updating your patient financial policy.
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