{"id":72032,"date":"2026-01-28T16:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=72032"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:11:47","slug":"unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpaid medical debt? Michigan may soon limit how creditors can come after it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lawmakers want to crack down on how and when hospitals and debt collectors can recoup unpaid medical debt under a two-bill package<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The bipartisan effort wouldn\u2019t stop debt collections all together, but, if passed, would prevent actions like foreclosure or wage garnishment<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It\u2019s unclear whether the package will be taken up in the Republican-led House. The policy push is bipartisan and bicameral<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>LANSING \u2014 When Lansing resident Leah Ciolek gave birth a few years ago to a baby boy, she thought she\u2019d done everything right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She had insurance. She had a plan. She had a healthy delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then came the bill \u2014 and a level of debt, shame and stress she said \u201cfollowed me for years \u2026 damaged my credit, dramatically increased my borrowing costs and delayed milestones at the very start of my adult financial life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t a personal failure, it\u2019s a system failure,\u201d Ciolek, a mother of two, told lawmakers during a Wednesday meeting of the state Senate Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee, which is considering legislation to limit the ways medical debt can be collected.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur system is failing the people for care that they need and cannot avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/michigan-gains-28k-residents-reversing-losses-to-other-states\/\"><strong>Michigan gains 28k residents, reversing losses to other states<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/former-michigan-governors-teaming-up-in-defining-moment-for-civility\/\"><strong>Former Michigan governors teaming up in \u2018defining moment for civility\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/ice-in-michigan-more-arrests-detainees-and-protests\/\"><strong>ICE in Michigan: More arrests, detainees and protests<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Stories like Ciolek\u2019s aren\u2019t uncommon, both in Michigan and nationally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In July, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the state would forgive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/whitmer\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/07\/17\/whitmer-announces-first-round-of-medical-debt-forgiveness-erasing-144-million-for-michiganders\">over $144 million in medical debt<\/a> for nearly 210,000 Michiganders as part of a state partnership with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt. As of 2025, state officials estimated around 700,000 Michiganders struggle with medical debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nationally, medical debt affects more than 100 million Americans who owe a combined $220 billion, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/about-us\/newsroom\/cfpb-takes-aim-at-double-billing-and-inflated-charges-in-medical-debt-collection\/\">2024 memorandum<\/a> from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But state Senate lawmakers are hoping to change that, taking up a two-bill, bipartisan package on Wednesday aimed at curbing how and when health care facilities or medical debt providers can recoup costs from patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese bills focus on protecting patients \u2014 making sure that, when an unexpected medical cost or emergency strikes, seeking care does not cost Michiganders their livelihoods,\u201d said state Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, one of the package\u2019s two sponsors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She and Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Coldwater, are the driving force behind <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/documents\/2025-2026\/billintroduced\/Senate\/pdf\/2025-SIB-0701.pdf\">Senate Bill 701<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/documents\/2025-2026\/billintroduced\/Senate\/pdf\/2025-SIB-0702.pdf\">Senate Bill 702<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taken together, Lindsey said the bills would still allow medical debt to be collected. However, the goal of the package is to \u201chelp protect some of the most vulnerable people \u2026 people that go in and often end up being saddled with this debt that ruins their livelihoods.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The package would, among other things:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Prevent a large health care facility or medical debt collector from taking what the legislation refers to as &#8220;extraordinary collection actions,\u201d which includes causing someone\u2019s arrest for unpaid medical debt, garnishing their wages or foreclosing on property.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prohibit a large health care facility or medical debt buyer from charging a late fee or interest that exceeds 3% of the amount of that medical debt per year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bar health care facilities or medical debt providers from charging a patient interest or a late fee on medical debt until 90 days after the final invoice for said medical debt.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ban deferring, denying or requiring a patient fully pay their medical debt before providing urgent services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Require a health care facility to, within 60 days, refund a patient who had paid more money than was owed on medical debt after financial assistance was applied.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Senate package is tie-barred to an identical two-bill, bipartisan state House legislative package, House Bills <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/Bills\/Bill?ObjectName=2025-HB-5254\">5254<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/Bills\/Bill?ObjectName=2025-HB-5255\">5255<\/a>, meaning none of the four can be signed into law unless all pass.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s such a deep desire from our constituents to tackle issues around health care and health care costs,\u201d Lindsey said. \u201cObviously, the medical debt protection part of it is on the back end \u2014 when it&#8217;s already become too late, and people are often in crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While a number of groups testified in favor of the effort on Wednesday just one \u2014 the Consumer Data Industry Association, or CDIA \u2014 submitted a card in opposition to the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement sent to Bridge Michigan following the hearing, a spokesperson for the association argued the state-level legislation was preempted by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and, if signed into law, could \u201cunleash unintended consequences because the credit reporting system operates across all jurisdictions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnly national, uniform standards can achieve the dual goals of protecting consumers and maintaining accurate credit reports, which is why CDIA respectfully opposes this provision,\u201d wrote Benjamin Corb, vice president for communications and public affairs with the Consumer Data Industry Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An official with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA) \u2014 a group which did not testify Wednesday but represents all community hospitals throughout the state \u2014&nbsp; told Bridge after the hearing they are still reviewing the package \u201cand remain engaged with legislators on opportunities to positively impact health care affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEnsuring patients have access to high-quality hospital care in their communities is deeply important to Michigan hospitals, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the Legislature to find solutions that preserve vital services close to home,\u201d said Elise Gonzales, MHA\u2019s director of communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether there\u2019s appetite for the proposal in the Republican-led House&nbsp; remains to be seen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, has already vowed to pass a limited number of bills this term, continuing <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/after-chaotic-year-michigan-leaders-eye-transparency-property-taxes\/\">a trend from 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hall\u2019s office did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senators did not vote on the two bills during Wednesday\u2019s committee hearing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unpaid medical debt is a national issue. A bipartisan pair of state senators hope to address repayment problems in Michigan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":72031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-01-28T21:11:45Z","apple_news_api_id":"6c54811f-53c8-485d-9cae-446fa1d86284","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-01-28T21:11:45Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AbFSBH1PISF2crkRvodhihA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[2445],"tags":[904],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2457],"class_list":["post-72032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michigan-government","tag-gov-gretchen-whitmer","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Unpaid medical debt? Michigan may soon limit how creditors can come after it - Bridge Michigan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unpaid medical debt? Michigan may soon limit how creditors can come after it - Bridge Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unpaid medical debt is a national issue. A bipartisan pair of state senators hope to address repayment problems in Michigan.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bridge Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BridgeMichigan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T21:11:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T21:11:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newborn-care-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jordyn Hermani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bridgemichigan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bridgemichigan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jordyn Hermani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jordyn Hermani\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e1345693c1e664915491f95af159fa17\"},\"headline\":\"Unpaid medical debt? 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Prior to joining the Capitol crew, she wrote for MLive as its statewide politics and culture reporter and with Gongwer Michigan as its state House reporter. She lives in Lansing with her husband and two cats.\u00a0When not writing, you can catch her watching hockey or horror movies \u2014 though, usually not at the same time. Get in touch with her at\u00a0jhermani@bridgemi.com\u00a0or on Twitter\u00a0@JordynHermani.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/author\/jordyn-hermani\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Unpaid medical debt? 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Gretchen Whitmer"],"articleSection":["Michigan Government"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/","url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/","name":"Unpaid medical debt? Michigan may soon limit how creditors can come after it - Bridge Michigan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newborn-care-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-01-28T21:11:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T21:11:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newborn-care-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newborn-care-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"An estimated 700,000 Michiganders struggled with medical debt as of 2025. State lawmakers say they want to limit how and when hospitals and debt collectors can go after unpaid bills. (Chloe Trofatter for Bridge Michigan)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Unpaid medical debt? 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Prior to joining the Capitol crew, she wrote for MLive as its statewide politics and culture reporter and with Gongwer Michigan as its state House reporter. She lives in Lansing with her husband and two cats.\u00a0When not writing, you can catch her watching hockey or horror movies \u2014 though, usually not at the same time. Get in touch with her at\u00a0jhermani@bridgemi.com\u00a0or on Twitter\u00a0@JordynHermani.","url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/author\/jordyn-hermani\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/unpaid-medical-debt-michigan-may-soon-limit-how-creditors-can-come-after-it\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Unpaid medical debt? 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