45-1303.

Medical Debt Relief Program; established; State Treasurer; medical debt relief coordinator; duties.

(1) The Medical Debt Relief Program is established for the purpose of discharging medical debt of eligible residents by contracting with a medical debt relief coordinator as described in subsection (3) of this section. The State Treasurer shall administer the program.

(2) Money appropriated to the State Treasurer or otherwise contributed for the program shall be used exclusively for the program, including contracting with a medical debt relief coordinator and providing money to be used by the medical debt relief coordinator to discharge medical debt of eligible residents. Money used in contracting with a medical debt relief coordinator may also be used for the payment of services provided by the medical debt relief coordinator to discharge medical debt of eligible residents based on a budget approved by the State Treasurer.

(3)(a) The State Treasurer shall enter into a contract with a medical debt relief coordinator to purchase and discharge medical debt owed by eligible residents with money allocated for the program.

(b) The State Treasurer shall implement a competitive bidding process to determine which medical debt relief coordinator to use, unless the State Treasurer determines that only a single medical debt relief coordinator has the capacity and willingness to carry out the duties specified in the Medical Debt Relief Act.

(c) In contracting with the State Treasurer, a medical debt relief coordinator shall adhere to the following:

(i) The medical debt relief coordinator shall review the medical debt accounts of each health care provider willing to donate or sell medical debt accounts in this state;

(ii) The medical debt relief coordinator may negotiate for and elect to buy the dischargeable medical debt from a health care provider that identifies the accounts described in subdivision (3)(c)(i) of this section as a bad debt expense and agrees to sell the debt for less than the original value;

(iii) After the purchase and discharge of medical debt from a health care provider, the medical debt relief coordinator shall notify all eligible residents whose medical debt has been discharged under the program, in a manner approved by the State Treasurer, that they no longer have specified medical debt owed to the relevant health care provider;

(iv) A medical debt relief coordinator shall make its best efforts to ensure parity and equity in the purchasing and discharging of medical debt to ensure that all eligible residents have an equal opportunity of receiving medical debt relief regardless of their geographical location or their race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, or national origin;

(v) A medical debt relief coordinator shall report to the State Treasurer summary statistics regarding eligible residents whose medical debt has been discharged; and

(vi) A medical debt relief coordinator may not attempt to seek payment from an eligible resident for medical debt purchased by the medical debt relief coordinator.

(d) A medical debt relief coordinator shall continue to fulfill its contractual obligations to the State Treasurer until all money contracted to the medical debt relief coordinator is exhausted, regardless of whether money allocated to the program has been exhausted.

(e) If a medical debt relief coordinator attempts to seek payment from an eligible resident for medical debt purchased by the medical debt relief coordinator or fails to carry out the responsibilities described in its contract with the State Treasurer, the medical debt relief coordinator shall be considered in breach of contract and the contract provisions that apply in the case of a breach of contract shall apply.

(f) Health care providers that are willing to sell medical debt to the medical debt relief coordinator shall provide necessary information to, and otherwise coordinate with, the medical debt relief coordinator as needed to carry out the purposes of the Medical Debt Relief Act.