Harrisburg, PA – A Pennsylvania House bill, initially designed to alleviate existing medical debt for residents, has undergone a significant conversion. The revised legislation now aims to proactively prevent medical debt by improving access to hospital financial assistance programs.

House Bill 79: A Preventative Approach

House Bill 79,sponsored by state Rep.Arvind Venkat (D-McCandless), an emergency physician, was amended during a recent state House Health committee meeting. The amendment shifts the focus from direct debt relief to ensuring patients are aware of and can easily access available financial aid.

Frankly, most patients and even clinicians like myself don’t know the details of and how patients can be connected with [hospital] financial assistance programs.
State Rep. Arvind Venkat (D-McCandless)

The amended bill mandates health systems to report details of their financial assistance programs to the Department of Health. This information will than be publicly displayed on the departmentS website, increasing awareness and accessibility.

A key provision of the bill ensures that medical bills are held in a pending status while a patient’s eligibility for financial assistance is being determined. This measure is designed to prevent the rapid accumulation of medical debt, a common concern for manny Pennsylvanians.

Is really a big way to prevent the accumulation of medical debt.
State Rep. Arvind Venkat (D-McCandless)

The bill received unanimous bipartisan support in the Health committee, signaling a strong likelihood of passage when it reaches the House floor for a vote later this session.

Patient Advocates Weigh In

While patient advocates acknowledge a preference for the original bill’s direct debt relief provisions, they recognize the amended version as a positive step forward.

While definitely it would have been amazing to keep the relief portion in the bill — something that could obviously help people with existing debts — we’re still really happy to see that some form did pass.
Jessica Foster, Deputy Policy and Partnership Director, Pennsylvania Health Access Network

The Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN), an organization dedicated to expanding affordable healthcare, notes that as many as four in ten Pennsylvanians struggle with medical debt. The original version of HB79 aimed to provide relief to those with medical debt exceeding 5% of their household income or those with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty line.

Navigating the Political Terrain

Rep. Venkat explained that the original bill’s effectiveness was limited by the fact that many Pennsylvania health systems, including major players like UPMC and Allegheny Health Network, do not sell patient medical debt to third-party collection agencies. This practice makes it arduous for both private entities and the government to purchase and forgive the debt.

Previous attempts at medical debt relief legislation have faced political hurdles. A similar bill passed the House in 2023 but stalled in the Senate. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s subsequent attempt to include a $4 million allocation for debt relief in the state budget also failed to gain traction in the Senate.

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of pennsylvania (HAP), the advocacy organization for healthcare companies, has adopted a neutral stance on the amended bill, signaling a potentially smoother path to passage.

HAP stated that it supports the amendment and highlighted that Pennsylvania hospitals provided $774 million in uncompensated care in 2023,demonstrating their commitment to working with patients and families.

HAP also sent a letter to Health committee members ahead of Wednesday’s vote, stating it was glad to have collaborated with lawmakers in developing compromise language included … that takes into consideration financial assistance programs in place and currently offered by hospitals.

Additional Healthcare Legislation

In related news, the Health committee also unanimously approved another amended bill introduced by Republican Bryan Cutler of Lancaster. This legislation seeks to establish a prescription drug repository program, allowing unused medications to be dispensed to indigent patients.

The updated bill will cover all unexpired prescription drugs to be re-dispensed to patients who are indigent by pharmacies approved by the Pharmacy Board.

Rep. Cutler explained that the legislation stemmed from a conversation with a constituent who, after his wife’s passing, was instructed to discard a significant amount of expensive medication.

Participation in the program would be voluntary, offering an chance for individuals and families who may have lost loved ones … to take something from their experiance and their loss and then pass it on to someone else.