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HB0195 • 2025

Credit reporting-medical debt.

AN ACT relating to consumer protection; prohibiting the reporting of medical debt to credit reporting agencies; creating a civil penalty; providing definitions; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Healthcare
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Provenza
Last action
2025-03-03
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2025

Plain English Breakdown

The bill is marked as inactive and was returned without becoming a law. Therefore, it does not have an official effective date of March 1, 2025.

Ban on Reporting Medical Debt to Credit Agencies

The bill prohibits medical facilities and debt collectors from reporting medical debts to credit agencies in Wyoming starting July 1, 2025.

What This Bill Does

  • Stops medical facilities and debt collectors from sending information about unpaid medical bills to credit reporting companies after July 1, 2025.
  • Adds a new law that says it's against the rules to report medical debts after July 1, 2025.
  • Allows courts to fine those who break this rule by making them pay an amount equal to the medical debt they reported.
  • Updates existing laws to include definitions for terms like 'medical debt' and 'credit reporting agency'.
  • Makes sure that contracts made before July 1, 2025, are not affected by these new rules.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Medical facilities in Wyoming.
  • Debt collectors who work with medical debts in Wyoming.
  • Credit reporting agencies in Wyoming.
  • People with unpaid medical bills in Wyoming.

Terms To Know

Collection entity
A person or company that purchases medical debt from or collects medical debt on behalf of another person.
Credit reporting agency
A company that collects and sells information about a person's credit history.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not affect contracts made before July 1, 2025.
  • It only applies to medical debts in Wyoming starting from July 1, 2025.
  • The bill is inactive and was returned without becoming a law.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-03 House

    H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4

  2. 2025-02-10 House

    H No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2025-02-10 House

    H10 - Labor:Do Pass Failed 3-5-1-0-0

  4. 2025-01-21 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H10 - Labor

  5. 2025-01-16 House

    H Received for Introduction

  6. 2025-01-15 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
25LSO-0583
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0583
Introduced
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0195

Credit reporting-medical debt.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Provenza and Andrew and Senator(s) Barlow and Hutchings

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to consumer protection; prohibiting the reporting of medical debt to credit reporting agencies; creating a civil penalty; providing definitions; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 40
‑
12
‑
115 is created to read:

40
‑
12
‑
115.

Credit reports; medical debt reporting prohibited; definitions.

(a)

As used in this section:

(i)

"Collection entity" means any person that purchases medical debt from or collects medical debt on behalf of another person;

(ii)

"Credit report" means as defined in W.S. 40
‑
12
‑
501(a)(iv);

(iii)

"Credit reporting agency" means a person that collects and sells information about a person's credit history;

(iv)

"Health care product" means a product including, but not limited to, a good, device, durable medical equipment or prescription drug provided in the provision of health care services;

(v)

"Health care services" means as defined in W.S. 26
‑
13
‑
303(a)(ii);

(vi)

"Medical debt" means an obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay any amount related to the receipt by the consumer of health care products or health care services. "Medical debt" shall not include debt charged to a credit card unless the credit card is issued under an open
‑
end or closed
‑
end credit plan offered specifically for the payment of charges related to health care products or health care services;

(vii)

"Medical facility" means a hospital, clinic, office, nursing home or other facility where a health care provider provides health care products or services to patients.

(b)

On and after July 1, 2025, each medical facility and each collection entity doing business in this state shall not report any portion of a medical debt to a credit reporting agency for use in a credit report.

(c)

If a medical facility or collection entity violates this section, a court of competent jurisdiction may impose a civil penalty on the medical facility or collection entity in the amount of the medical debt reported.

Section 2
.

W.S. 40
‑
12
‑
102(a)(x) is amended to read:

40
‑
12
‑
102.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act:

(x)

"This act" means W.S. 40
‑
12
‑
101 through
40
‑
12
‑
114
40
‑
12
‑
115
.

Section 3.

Nothing in this act is to be construed to impair any contract entered into before July 1, 2025.

Section 4.

This act is effective July 1, 2025
.

(END)

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HB0195