2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 6 - CONSUMER AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-28-102) › HOSPITAL DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMERS (§§ 6-20-101 — 6-20-203) › Article 20 - HOSPITAL DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMERS (§§ 6-20-101 — 6-20-203) › Part 2 - NOTIFICATION OF DEBT BY A HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER (§§ 6-20-201 — 6-20-203) › Section 6-20-203 - [Effective until 7/1/2025] Limitations on collection actions - definition

(1)
Beginning June 1, 2022, impermissible extraordinary collection actions may not be used by any medical creditor to collect debts owed for hospital services.
(2)
Beginning June 1, 2022, no medical creditor collecting on a debt for hospital services shall engage in any permissible extraordinary collection actions until one hundred eighty-two days after the date the patient receives hospital services.
(3)
(a)
Beginning September 1, 2022, at least thirty days before taking any permissible extraordinary collection action, a medical creditor, as defined in section
6-20-201 (6)(a)
, collecting on a debt for hospital services shall notify the patient of potential collection actions and shall include with the notice a statement developed by the department of health care policy and financing that explains the availability of discounted care for qualified individuals and how to apply for such care.
(b)
(I)
A medical creditor, as defined in section
6-20-201 (6)(b), (6)(c), or (6)(d)
, collecting on a debt for hospital services shall include the following statement in the notices the medical creditor provides to the patient pursuant to section
5-16-109 (1)
and
15 U.S.C. sec. 1692g (a)
: "Pursuant to Colorado law, discounts for hospital services are available for qualified individuals." The statement must include a link to the written explanation of the patient's rights that is posted to the department of health care policy and financing's website pursuant to section
25.5-3-505 (5)(a)
.
(II)
A medical creditor, as defined section
6-20-201 (6)(b), (6)(c), or (6)(d)
, shall not take any permissible extraordinary collection actions until the later of thirty days from the date of sending the notice required pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(I) of this section or the completion of the validation requirements described in section
5-16-109 (2)
and
15 U.S.C. sec. 1692g (b)
.
(4)
Beginning September 1, 2022, if a medical creditor collecting on a debt for hospital services bills or initiates collection activities and it is later determined that the patient should have been screened pursuant to section
25.5-3-503
and is determined to be a qualified patient, as defined in section
25.5-3-501 (5)
, or it is determined that the patient's bill is eligible for reimbursement through a public health-care coverage program or the Colorado indigent care program, the medical creditor shall:
(a)
Delete any negative reports to consumer reporting agencies;
(b)
(I)
Unless prohibited by law, if the court has entered a judgment on the medical debt:
(A)
Request the court vacate the judgment in any collection lawsuit over the medical debt and enter into a payment plan with the patient that meets the requirements of section
25.5-3-503 (1)(b)
; or
(B)
Request the court reduce the amount of the judgment, including any fees and costs related to the collection lawsuit, to the total amount the patient owes pursuant to the public health-care coverage program or discounted care policy that the patient qualifies for, enter into a payment plan with the patient that meets the requirements of section
25.5-3-503 (1)(b)
, and suspend all execution on the judgment while the patient is compliant with the terms of the payment plan; or
(C)
File a satisfaction of judgment such that the remaining unpaid balance of the judgment, including any fees and costs related to the collection lawsuit, is equal to the total amount the patient owes under the public health-care coverage program or discounted care policy that the patient qualifies for, enter into a payment plan with the patient that meets the requirements of section
25.5-3-503 (1)(b)
, and suspend all execution on the judgment while the patient is compliant with the terms of the payment plan.
(II)
For the purposes of subsections (4)(b)(I)(B) and (4)(b)(I)(C) of this section, the court shall refund to the parties any fees and costs paid to the court in connection with the litigation of the medical debt and the health-care provider shall indemnify the medical creditor for any fees awarded as part of the judgment in connection with the medical debt.
(c)
As the term "medical creditor" is defined in section
6-20-201 (6)(a)
, refund any excess amount to the patient if the patient has paid any part of the medical debt or if any of the patient's money has been seized or levied in excess of the amount that the patient owes after application of required discounts;
(d)
As the term "medical creditor" is defined in sections
6-20-201 (6)(b), (6)(c), and (6)(d)
, if the patient has paid any part of the medical debt or if any of the patient's money has been seized or levied in excess of the amount that the patient owes after application of required discounts, refund any excess amount to the patient to the extent the medical creditor has not already remitted such an amount to the health-care provider; and
(e)
Remedy any other permissible extraordinary collection action.
(5)
Beginning September 1, 2022, a medical creditor collecting on a debt for hospital services shall not sell a medical debt to another party unless, prior to the sale, the medical debt seller has entered into a legally binding written agreement with the medical debt buyer of the debt pursuant to which:
(a)
The medical debt buyer agrees not to pursue impermissible extraordinary collection actions to obtain payment for the care;
(b)
The debt is returnable to or recallable by the medical debt seller upon a determination that the patient should have been screened pursuant to section
25.5-3-502
and is eligible for discounted care pursuant to section
25.5-3-503
or that the bill underlying the medical debt is eligible for reimbursement through a public health-care coverage program or the Colorado indigent care program; and
(c)
If it is determined that the patient should have been screened pursuant to section
25.5-3-502
and is eligible for discounted care pursuant to section
25.5-3-503
or that the bill underlying the medical debt is eligible for reimbursement through a public health-care coverage program or the Colorado indigent care program and the debt is not returned to or recalled by the medical debt seller, the medical debt buyer shall adhere to procedures that must be specified in the agreement that ensures the patient will not pay, and has no obligation to pay, the medical debt buyer and the medical creditor together more than the patient is personally responsible for paying.
(6)
The medical debt seller shall indemnify the medical debt buyer for any amount paid for a debt that is returned to or recalled by the medical debt seller.
(7)
Nothing in this section limits or affects a health-care provider's right to pursue against any party other than the patient the collection of personal injury, liability, uninsured, underinsured, medical payment rehabilitation, disability, homeowner's, business owner's, workers' compensation, fault-based insurance, subrogated claims, or other claims not against the patient.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 421, § 16, eff. 8/10/2022.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 203, § 6, eff. 5/20/2022.
Added by 2021 Ch. 435, § 4, eff. 9/7/2021.
2022 Ch. 421, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.