Health care debt and costs.

From the Legislature

Health care debt and costs. Authorizes the attorney general to enforce provisions concerning health care debt wage garnishment and principal residence lien restrictions and establish a complaint process. Requires hospitals to do the following: (1) Offer a person who meets certain income guidelines and has received health services the opportunity to pay the charges through a payment plan that satisfies certain requirements. (2) Develop a written notice about a charity care program operated by the hospital, provide the notice to patients, and post the notice. (3) Include certain information concerning financial assistance on a billing statement. (4) Requires a hospital that reports an annual gross patient revenue of at least $20,000,000 to provide written notice and information to a person who has requested an eligibility determination concerning a payment plan or charity care. Provides that the unpaid earnings of a consumer who meets specified income eligibility requirements may not be attached by garnishment if an individual makes 200% of the federal income poverty level or less, and limits the amount to be garnished over a certain amount of the individual's disposable earnings in satisfaction of: (1) health care debt owed or alleged to be owed by the consumer; or (2) any amount of the judgment that represents health care debt determined to be owed by the consumer. Provides that: (1) health care debt owed or alleged to be owed by a consumer; or (2) in an action against a consumer in which a judgment has been entered, the amount of the judgment that represents health care debt determined to be owed by the consumer; does not constitute a lien against the consumer's principal residence for a consumer. Requires the disclosure of whether a debt is a health care debt in the execution of a judgment. Provides that in any action filed in Indiana for the recovery of health care debt owed or alleged to be owed by a consumer, the principal residence of the consumer is not liable to judgment or attachment or to be sold on execution against the consumer.