What's happening
This bill prohibits state-operated hospitals in New York from suing patients in court to collect medical debt.
Why it matters
Shields vulnerable patients. By preventing state-operated hospitals from suing patients, the bill provides crucial legal protection for individuals who might otherwise face court judgments, wage garnishments, or liens on their property due to unpaid medical bills.
Reduces financial distress. Medical debt lawsuits can lead to long-term financial hardship, damaged credit, and increased barriers to housing or employment; this law aims to break that cycle for patients seeking care at public hospitals.
Shifts hospital collection practices. The prohibition may push state hospitals to adopt more patient-friendly collection methods, such as expanded financial assistance, income-based repayment plans, or increased use of charity care, rather than aggressive legal tactics.
Highlights public health priorities. By limiting the punitive financial actions state hospitals can take, the bill underscores a policy shift towards prioritizing access to care and public health over aggressive debt recovery from patients.
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Who cares
Patients with medical debt
The bill would bar covered state-operated facilities from pursuing them in civil or supreme court over medical debt, including alleged obligations to pay.
State university health care facilities
Facilities authorized under article eight of the education law would lose the ability to pursue medical debt lawsuits against patients.
Cancer institutes
Institutes authorized under article ten-C of the public authorities law would be prohibited from suing patients for medical debt.
Hospitals authorized under public health law section 2600
These hospitals would also face the litigation ban, which would take effect immediately.
Headline styles
Stop Hospital Debt Lawsuits
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
4 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.1337
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Stop Hospital Debt Lawsuits
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
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 stateoperated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 51 to read as follows:
ARTICLE 51
PROHIBITION ON STATE-OPERATED HOSPITALS SUING PATIENTS FOR
MEDICAL DEBT Section 5100. Prohibition on state-operated hospitals suing patients for
medical debt.
§ 5100. Prohibition on state-operated hospitals suing patients for medical debt. 1. No state university health care facility authorized under article eight of the education law, cancer institute authorized under article ten-C of the public authorities law, or hospital authorized under section twenty-six hundred of this chapter shall pursue litigation in civil or supreme court against a patient for the pursuit of a medical debt.
2. For the purposes of this section, the term "medical debt" shall mean an obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay any amount related to the receipt of health care services, products, or devices provided to a person by a hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of this chapter, a health care professional authorized under title eight of the education law or an ambulance service certified under article thirty of this chapter.
§ 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
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting state- operated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prohibit state-operated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends the Public Health Law (PHL) by adding a new Article 51 as it relates to prohibiting state university health care facilities authorized under Article 8 of the Education Law, cancer institutes authored under Article 10-c of the Public Authorities Law, and hospitals authorized under section 2600 of PHL from pursuing litigation against patients for medical debt.
Read the full memo (613 words)
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
This bill would protect New Yorkers who receive care from New York State-operated hospitals from medical debt lawsuits. There are five State-operated hospitals: SUNY Upstate (Syracuse), SUNY Downstate (Brooklyn), SUNY Stony Brook (Long Island), Roswell Park (Buffalo) and Helen Hayes (Rockland County). Together, they sue their patients at disproportionate rates compared to other New York hospitals, suing over 3,000 patients per year. These lawsuits are pursued in State Supreme Court by lawyers from the Attorney General's office.
An analysis of SUNY Upstate by the Community Service Society found that over 50 percent of the cases were filed in zip codes where residents are disproportionately people of color. They also found that 77% of patients who were sued live in zip codes where the median income is under $70,000 a year and thus were likely eligible for hospital financial assistance under state law. Another dozen patients who were sued lived in prison, and thus were unlikely to have any significant income at all.
A July 2023 study by the Urban Institute indicates that 740,000 New Yorkers are afflicted by medical debt and that it is disproportionately shouldered by people of color, low-income people, and people who live in rural parts of New York State. This report noted that areas where the percentage of New Yorkers with medical debt are high coincide with areas where there are hospital medical debt litigation hotspots. Medical bill- ing is both confusing and difficult to navigate. Pricing is opaque and insurance payments are bewildering.
New York State operated hospitals receive over $500 million annually in federal and state disproportionate share hospital (DSH) funding. They also benefit from local, state, and federal tax exemptions. Private and voluntary hospitals in New York receive only a portion of the DSH fund- ing for which they could be eligible because the need in New York is greater than New York's DSH funding cap. By contrast, these five State- operated hospitals receive the full amount of funding for which they are eligible, with the State paying the entire non-federal share of the DSH funding. Unlike these State-run hospitals, locally operated government- run public hospitals are only able to receive the full amount of DSH funding when their localities pay a portion of the non-federal share. Moreover, the largest government-run public hospital system in New York State, New York City Health and Hospitals, does not sue any patients at all.
Suing patients is expensive and does little to offset the State-run hospitals' margins. For example, the total amount SUNY Upstate sued patients for in one year was just $16 million. SUNY Upstate's annual operating budget was $1.5 billion, indicating its practice of suing its patients will do little to ameliorate its bottom line.
This bill would prohibit State-run hospitals from suing patients for medical debt and prevent them from perpetuating medical debt collection tactics that place an obscene burden on low-income New Yorkers who seek necessary medical care.
Legislative history
2023-2024: S7778/A8170 Paulin
Fiscal implication
None.
Effective date
Effective Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.