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Committee holds medical-debt measures after broad support from advocates and treasurer’s office
Summary
Two bills aimed at reducing harms from medical debt — an interest-rate cap on medical bills (S 172) and limits on collections action for medical debt (S 169) — were supported by advocacy groups and the treasurer’s office and were held by the Senate Commerce Committee for further consideration.
The Rhode Island Senate Commerce Committee heard testimony March 25 on two bills intended to reduce the financial burden of medical debt: Senate Bill 172, which would cap interest rates on medical debt, and Senate Bill 169, which would limit collections actions including execution or attachment against a primary residence and prohibit certain credit-reporting and wage-garnishment actions for medical debt. Both measures were placed on hold.
Senator Burke described S 172 as part of a medical package and said the measure would cap interest rates charged by providers and facilities for medical debt that accrues after the bill becomes law. Supporters said the cap would be tied to market rates; Robert Craven, director of policy for the general treasurer’s office, explained the bill would tie the cap to U.S. Treasury yields — roughly 4% at the time of the hearing — which he contrasted with existing statutory caps that can be significantly higher.
Advocacy groups urged passage as an equity measure. Nina Harris, policy director at the Economic Progress Institute, urged support for both bills, saying medical debt drives bankruptcies and disproportionately affects Black, Latino and other marginalized communities. Ernie Davis of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society said Rhode Island’s current interest-rate regime is "particularly egregious" when applied to medical debt.
Craven said the treasurer’s office supports measures that protect households from medical debt collections and noted that the state’s medical-debt forgiveness program had already forgiven about $7 million in face value, improving the financial situation for nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders for a modest program cost.
Senator Bazilian (sponsor of S 169) said the measure would prohibit certain collection remedies for medical debt and stressed the measure’s role in protecting housing stability and worker earnings; supporters noted approximately 5–6 percent of Rhode Islanders have medical debt in collections.
After testimony, Senator Sadowski moved to hold both bills for further consideration; the motion was seconded and recorded as carried. Committee members praised the bills’ intent and indicated interest in advancing protections for people with medical debt but did not vote on final passage.
Votes at the committee session: motions to hold S 172 and S 169 were made and recorded as carried; no numeric roll-call tally was announced in the hearing transcript.
