S 359: Prohibits state-operated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt; defines "medical debt".

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 359 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, JACKSON, KRUEGER, MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting state- operated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 51 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 51 4 PROHIBITION ON STATE-OPERATED HOSPITALS SUING PATIENTS FOR 5 MEDICAL DEBT 6 Section 5100. Prohibition on state-operated hospitals suing patients for 7 medical debt. 8 § 5100. Prohibition on state-operated hospitals suing patients for 9 medical debt. 1. No state university health care facility authorized 10 under article eight of the education law, cancer institute authorized 11 under article ten-C of the public authorities law, or hospital author- 12 ized under section twenty-six hundred of this chapter shall pursue liti- 13 gation in civil or supreme court against a patient for the pursuit of a 14 medical debt. 15 2. For the purposes of this section, the term "medical debt" shall 16 mean an obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay any amount 17 related to the receipt of health care services, products, or devices 18 provided to a person by a hospital licensed under article twenty-eight 19 of this chapter, a health care professional authorized under title eight 20 of the education law or an ambulance service certified under article 21 thirty of this chapter. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00559-01-5