Vermont passes law to exclude medical debt from credit reports
Senate backs bill to pay some Vermonters' medical debt
Senate Bill 27 (S. 27) follows in the footsteps of states like Rhode Island, which passed its own medical debt relief program in October of last year. It eliminates some medical debt for low- and medium-income Vermonters by purchasing it 'at fair market value', and forbids credit agencies from including medical debt on their reports.
Read the full text of the bill hereDownload
Though the Governor signed the bill, he wrote in a letter to the General Assembly that care needs to be taken for the program to be effective in the future.
'With a looming healthcare crisis and our growing crisis of affordability in Vermont,' wrote Governor Scott, 'we should anticipate this debt financing program to grow which raises significant concerns about future appropriations and where the funding will come from.
'Finally, now that we have created this million-dollar program, we may be disincentivizing repayment because of a misperception that 'the State' will eventually pay for it.'
The bill was proposed in January and endorsed by State Treasurer Mike Pieciak. It was passed unanimously by the Senate in March.
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