HB2187 • 2026

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE.

Healthcare

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: LA CHICA, AMATO, BELATTI, GEDEON, GRANDINETTI, HUSSEY, ILAGAN, IWAMOTO, KAHALOA, KAPELA, KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, MARTEN, MORIKAWA, OLDS, PERRUSO, POEPOE, QUINLAN, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA, TAM, TEMPLO, Reyes Oda
Last action: 2026-03-10
Official status: Referred to HHS/CPN, JDC.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide details on how existing debts will be handled after the effective date, leaving this as an open question.

Health Care Facilities; Health Care Providers; Emergency Medical Services; Medical Debt; Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies

This bill stops health care facilities, providers, and emergency services from sending medical debt information to credit reporting agencies, and also prevents these agencies from listing or storing such information.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits hospitals, doctors, and emergency services from giving medical bills to credit reporting companies.
Forbids credit reporting companies from listing or storing any medical debts in their records about a person.

Who It Names or Affects

Health care facilities, such as hospitals and clinics.
Doctors and other health care providers.
Emergency medical services like ambulances and emergency rooms.
Credit reporting companies that collect and share financial information about individuals.

Terms To Know

Medical debt: Money owed for healthcare services, products, or devices received from a health care facility, provider, or emergency service.
Consumer credit reporting agency: A company that collects and shares financial information about individuals to help other companies make decisions about lending money or offering services.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if medical debt is still reported after the effective date.
It's unclear how this will affect existing medical debts before the law takes effect.
The bill only applies to Hawaii and may not cover all types of health care-related financial obligations.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment would prohibit health care facilities, providers, and emergency medical services from reporting medical debt to consumer credit agencies, and prevent these agencies from maintaining such information in consumer files.

Health care facilities, providers, and emergency medical services are prohibited from furnishing medical debt to consumer credit reporting agencies.
Consumer credit reporting agencies are banned from reporting or keeping medical debt records for consumers.

The effective date of July 1, 3000 is likely a placeholder and needs clarification in the actual bill text.

Bill History

2026-03-10 S
Referred to HHS/CPN, JDC.
2026-03-10 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-10 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 193).
2026-03-06 H
Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Quinlan, Sayama excused (3). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 984-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-03 H
The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Grandinetti, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Kong, Lowen, Marten, Tam; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Pierick.
2026-02-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Tuesday, 03-03-26 2:00PM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-18 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and none excused (0).
2026-02-18 H
Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 358-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.
2026-02-13 H
The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Hartsfield, Marten, Takenouchi; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Olds, Alcos, Garcia; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-10 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Friday, 02-13-26 9:00AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-30 H
Referred to HLT, CPC, referral sheet 5
2026-01-28 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-26 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE.
Health Care Facilities; Health Care Providers; Emergency Medical Services; Medical Debt; Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies
Prohibits health care facilities, health care providers, and emergency medical services from furnishing medical debt to a consumer credit reporting agency. Prohibits consumer credit reporting agencies from reporting or maintaining medical debt information in the file on a consumer. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2187

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2187

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to health care
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that medical debt has
grown significantly in the past few decades.
�

Over forty per cent of adults in the United States have medical debt, with
medical debt of all United States residents totaling over $220,000,000,000.
�
While this figure is lower in Hawaii, with
one in ten residents having outstanding medical debt on their credit report,
the financial impact of medical debt is particularly burdensome in the State
given the high cost of living.
�
This debt
reduces residents' access to health care services, harms credit scores, and
creates long-term economic hardship.

����
The legislature further finds that California,
Illinois, and New York have alleviated the impact of medical debt on health
care providers by prohibiting medical debt information from being reported to
consumer credit reporting agencies and several other states have considered
similar measures.
�
A reporting
prohibition would mitigate the impact of medical debt on the credit scores of
health care providers.
�
The legislature
recognizes the need for the State to follow suit and take steps to alleviate the
burden of medical debt on Hawaii residents.

����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to p
rohibit:

����
(1)
�
Health care facilities, health care providers,
and emergency medical services from furnishing medical debt to a consumer
credit reporting agency; and

����
(2)
�
C
onsumer
credit reporting agencies from reporting or maintaining medical debt in the
file on a consumer.

����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 487J, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�487J-
�
Medical
debt; consumer credit reporting agencies; reporting prohibited.
�
(a)
�
No health care facility, health care provider,
or emergency medical service shall furnish medical debt to a consumer credit reporting
agency.

����
(b)
�
Any
contract entered into between a health care facility, health care provider, or
emergency medical service and a collection agency for the purchase or
collection of medical debt shall include a provision that prohibits reporting
of medical debt to a consumer credit reporting agency.

����
(c)
�

Any medical debt furnished to a consumer credit reporting agency in
violation of this section shall be void.

����
(d)
�
No
consumer credit reporting agency shall report or maintain medical debt in the
file on a consumer.

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(e)
�
As
used in this section:

����
"Collection agency" means a
collection agency registered under chapter 443B, an out-of-state collection
agency designated as exempt under section 443B-3.5, a collection agency
contracted with a state agency pursuant to section 40-82.5 for the collection
of medical debt, or a collection agency contracted with a county for the collection
of medical debt that either purchases medical debt or collects medical debt on
behalf of another entity.

����
"Consumer credit reporting agency"
has the same meaning as defined in section 489P-2.

����
"Emergency medical service" means an
emergency medical service or ambulance service provided or conducted by or
under the authority of a county pursuant to part XI of chapter 46 or under the
state emergency medical services system pursuant to part XVIII of chapter 321.

����
"Health care facility" means a
facility regulated pursuant to rules adopted under section 321-11(10).

����
"Health care provider" means an
individual who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by
the laws of the State to provide health care in the ordinary course of business
or practice of the individual's profession.
�

"Health care provider" includes any agent, or other person
employed by or under contract with the health care provider.

����
"Medical debt" means 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 health
care facility, health care provider, or emergency medical service.
�
"Medical debt" does not include
debt charged to a credit card unless the credit card is issued as open-end credit
or closed-end credit, as those terms are defined in title 12 Code of Federal
Regulations section 1026.2, offered specifically for the payment of health care
services, products, or devices provided to a person.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Health
Care Facilities; Health Care Providers; Emergency Medical Services; Medical
Debt; Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies

Description:

Prohibits

health care facilities, health
care providers, and emergency medical services from furnishing medical debt to
a consumer credit reporting agency
.
�

Prohibits consumer credit reporting agencies from reporting or
maintaining medical debt information in the file on a consumer.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.