Med Freedom Bill

Summary

Please sign and share this petition. We need something done NOW about Medical Bills and the impact on the finances of millions of people across the country. 

Chances are, either you or someone that you know of, have been affected by medical bills.  We would like a bill called ''Med Freedom'' to be created, sponsored and passed by Congress & the White House. 

This bill will truly be in the interest of the public.  If we get enough support behind this, we can make it happen.  There will be more specific details as you read further in the petition.  

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP

(3 simple things you can do right now to help)

1. Sign and Share this petition.  Share it via email and to your social media.  Here is the link that you can copy and paste, www.change.org/medfreedom

2. Email this petition to your local news station.  We have compiled an email list of news stations all across the country in every state.  Click Here to see the list

3. Email this petition to one of the top major news networks. We have an email list here.  Click Here to see the list. 

*** PRESS & NEWS can contact Steve Ryan at [email protected] or fill out Press Contact Form below

DETAILS OF THE PETITION 

People don’t choose to get sick.  Yet, there are millions of people who are penalized financially due to medical bills.  This simply isn’t right and it doesn’t make sense that in one of the top nations on this planet, medical bills are a huge burden for much of the population.

People need our help.  Why should people have to choose between going to .the doctor and being concerned about if they can afford it?  Why should people have to be concerned about medical bills hitting their credit reports?  It's hard enough for people to survive financially day to day.  And when the unexpected health issues arise, the last thing on someone's mind should be their medical bills. 

Let's petition the White House, Senate and House of Representatives to pass a consumer friendly law that will stop medical collections from being garnished from people's wages and to stop it from reporting to people's credit report.  Especially for low income and people who are struggling to make ends meet paycheck to paycheck. Medical Bills are one of the TOP reasons for bankruptcy (articles posted at the end).

We are proposing that this bill is called Med Freedom .This bill will keep medical bills off of the credit report completely and will not allow wages to be garnished.  We are ok with safeguards to prevent people from abusing this.  For example, maybe this can apply to emergencies and essential medical bills and not elective medical bills such as cosmetics.  

People don't choose to get sick.  It's not fair that they are penalized if they can't afford to pay their medical bills, if they don't have health insurance, if the health insurance doesn't cover it all or if their insurance deductibles are so high, they can't afford it. It hurts to have to hear that people actually will think twice about riding in an ambulance if they need medical attention because they worry about a bill later. 

Medical bills that turn into collections that get placed on the credit can impact someone getting a job, buying a home, car or anything else that's needed.  It's not fair and it's not right.  

When I saw this article about one of the top hospital groups in the country going after thousands of people for medical bills even during the pandemic, it broke my heart. https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/17/us/hospital-lawsuits-pandemic-invs/index.html

Check out these statistics.

Two-thirds of people who file for bankruptcy cite medical issues as a key contributor to their financial downfall. While the high cost of health care has historically been a trigger for bankruptcy filings, the research shows that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has not improved things. What most people do not realize, according to one researcher, is that their health insurance may not be enough to protect them. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/this-is-the-real-reason-most-americans-file-for-bankruptcy.html and check out this havard study at https://www.thebalance.com/medical-bankruptcy-statistics-4154729

According to a 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation and New York Times survey, more than 1 in 4 Americans had trouble paying a recent medical bill. And when medical debt piles up, that can lead to difficult financial decisions, such as needing to cut back on food, clothing, or other basic household items.

Medical debt—and the fear of medical debt—has severe consequences for Americans. One of the largest issues is that debt can cause people to neglect medical problems. Nearly one in three Americans say that they have delayed getting care because they were worried about the cost.  

Source - https://www.singlecare.com/blog/medical-debt-statistics/

CURRENT POTENTIAL LEGISLATION & WHY IT'S NOT ENOUGH

The Medical Debt Relief Bill was reintroduced by Congresswoman Katie Porter and Senator Jeff Merkley earlier in 2021 according to her website, https://porter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=279.  This bill has a lot of good intentions, but in our opinion, it does not go far enough.  The highlights of the bill is to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to institute a 1-year waiting period before medical debt will be reported on a consumers credit report and to remove paid-off and settled medical debts from credit reports that have been fully paid or settled. 

Here is why we don't believe this is enough.  It institutes a 1 year waiting period before medical debt will be reported on the credit report, but what if it's a life threatening medical bill or a bill that someone could never afford regardless of the amount of time.  One year is not enough.  Medical Bills should not be on the credit at all.  This can impact someone's financial future such as having a place to live, future job or any other essentials that's needed due to the impact on the credit.

The second reason that the proposed bill is not enough is that it addresses removing paid off and settled medical bills after they have been fully paid or settled.  This does not address the issue that if someone can't afford to pay the medical bills at all, they will never reach a point where they can fully pay or settle. 

Look at this New York Times article where it states that covid killed someone's father and then came 1 million dollars in medical bills, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/upshot/covid-bills-financial-long-haulers.html

It is important that Congress sees public support for a bill that will actually benefit the public.  This is the purpose of the petition. 


OPPONENTS OF THIS PETITION

& OUR RESPONSE TO THAT

We understand that the opponents of this petition for Med Freedom have said things such as, people will never have an incentive to pay and that such a bill will leave too much room for people take advantage of the system.  This is an understandable objection and it's duly noted.  What is stronger than that objection is that things can't continue the way it is now. 

Medical Bills and the way that they are handled in this country cannot continue the status quo. Here are some potential ideas for compromise so that people can't take advantage of this. 

Medical Bills that fit certain categories can fall under the Bill that this petition is proposing. Those categories can be things such as emergencies and essentials. Emergency doesn't mean that it's limited to an emergency room. Emergency and essentials can also include if you are going to the doctor and they discover something that you need such as surgery, cancer treatment or any other unexpected necessary medical procedure. Another example would be a car accident or anything that is unexpected that is necessary for you to have.

Any medical bill that is outside of those categories such as cosmetic surgeries that weren't deemed medically necessary, perhaps should not be included under the coverage of the bill.

Here is another possible compromise.  If banishing the garnishment of wages is off the table, then perhaps wage garnishments for medical bills can be limited to a certain percentage of someone's income, such as 5 percent. 

If someone has a financial hardship, maybe the repayment of medical bills can be based on income such as an income driven repayment plan. Those who can afford to pay more should pay, but those who can't afford it should not be penalized. Keep in mind, this is for emergency and essential medical bills that someone did not have control over. These type of medical bills should NEVER be on a credit report. It's simply just not right.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP

(3 simple things you can do right now to help)

1. Sign and Share this petition.  Share it via email and to your social media.  Here is the link that you can copy and paste, www.change.org/medfreedom

2. Email this petition to your local news station.  We have compiled an email list of news stations all across the country in every state.  Click Here to see the list

3.Email this petition to one of the top major news networks. We have an email list here.  Click Here to see the list. 

*** PRESS & NEWS can contact Steve Ryan at [email protected] or fill out Press Contact Form below

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