House debates medical debt relief bill [Video]

The legislation would give patients more time to repay medical debt and shield their income from forced collections.

ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House Monday night passed the Commerce Policy Bill after hours of debate. The legislation includes several medical debt reforms known collectively as the Debt Fairness Act.

The bill would bar medical providers from denying care due to unpaid medical debt. It would ban the practice of transferring a dead patient’s medical debt to a surviving spouse. It would also prohibit medical providers from reporting unpaid medical debt to credit bureaus.

Among those who rallied in the Rotunda in support of the bill was Jen Schultz, a public relations professional and adjunct professor at Concordia University in St. Paul.

“I’m a four-time cancer survivor and a lot of times it feels like I’m in a constant cycle of medical debt,” Schultz told KARE.

“I’ve had so many situations where I’ve …