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LD558 • 2025

An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports

An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports

Healthcare
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Senator Donna Bailey
Last action
2025-06-09
Official status
Signed by the Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports

An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports Sponsor: Senator Donna Bailey Reference committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Governor action: Signed by the Governor

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports Sponsor: Senator Donna Bailey Reference committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Governor action: Signed by the Governor

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

Adopted by House & Senate

Plain English: Page 1 - 132LR0718(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.

  • Page 1 - 132LR0718(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.
  • 558 2 Date: (Filing No.
  • S- ) 3HEALTH COVERAGE, INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES 4 Reproduced and distributed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
  • 5STATE OF MAINE 6SENATE 7132ND LEGISLATURE 8FIRST SPECIAL SESSION 9 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “ ” to S.P.

Bill History

  1. 2025-06-09 Governor

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2025-06-02 House

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED . Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.

  3. 2025-06-02 Senate

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED , in concurrence.

  4. 2025-05-23 Committee

    Reported Out; OTP-AM

  5. 2025-04-09 Committee

    Work Session Held

  6. 2025-04-09 Committee

    Voted; OTP-AM

  7. 2025-04-02 Committee

    Work Session Held; TABLED

  8. 2025-02-19 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports
Sponsor:
Senator Donna Bailey
Reference committee:
Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Governor action:
Signed by the Governor

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Page 1 - 132LR0718(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
S.P. 237 - L.D. 558
An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of
Medical Debt on Consumer Reports
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1308, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A. Debt buyer. "Debt buyer" has the same meaning as in Title 32, section 11002,
subsection 5-A.
Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §1308, sub-§3-B is enacted to read:
3-B. Debt collector. "Debt collector" has the same meaning as in Title 32, section
11002, subsection 6.
Sec. 3. 10 MRSA §1308, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A. Medical creditor. "Medical creditor" means an entity that provides health care
services and to whom a consumer incurs medical debt or an entity that provided health care
services to a consumer and to whom the consumer previously owed medical debt if the
medical debt has been purchased by one or more debt buyers.
Sec. 4. 10 MRSA §1308, sub-§4-B is enacted to read:
4-B. Medical debt. "Medical debt" has the same meaning as in Title 32, section
11002, subsection 7-A.
Sec. 5. 10 MRSA §1310-H, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 77, §2, is amended
to read:
4. Reporting of medical expenses debt on a consumer report. Notwithstanding any
provision of federal law, a consumer reporting agency shall comply with the following
provisions with respect to the reporting of medical expenses debt on a consumer report.
A. A consumer reporting agency may not report debt from medical expenses medical
debt on a consumer's consumer report when the date of the first delinquency on the
debt is less than 180 days prior to the date that the debt is reported and a medical
creditor, debt collector or debt buyer may not report a consumer's medical debt to a
consumer reporting agency.
APPROVED
JUNE 9, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
201
PUBLIC LAW
Page 2 - 132LR0718(03)
B. Upon the receipt of reasonable evidence from the consumer, creditor or debt
collector that a debt from medical expenses has been settled in full or paid in full, a
consumer reporting agency:
(1) May not report that debt from medical expenses; and
(2) Shall remove or suppress the report of that debt from medical expenses on the
consumer's consumer report.
C. As long as the consumer is making regular, scheduled periodic payments toward
the debt from medical expenses reported to the consumer reporting agency as agreed
upon by the consumer and medical provider, the consumer reporting agency shall
report that debt from medical expenses on the consumer's consumer report in the same
manner as debt related to a consumer credit transaction is reported.