State Congressional Leaders Outline Health Care Agenda, Including Billing and Collections

By Kathleen Hennessey, Associated Press

State Democratic leaders called Thursday for better consumer protection efforts and a health insurance subsidy for small-business employees as part of a health care agenda they plan to pitch to voters this campaign season.

The agenda – a series of five legislative proposals – includes a health insurance pilot program targeted at small businesses, efforts to regulate medical debt collectors and two health care cost reporting programs that Democrats say will help consumers find affordable prescription drugs and shed light on hospital charges.

“This is about giving consumers better information so they can make better choices for themselves,” said Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno.

They proposed limiting fees that collection agencies apply when going after medical debt, a leading cause of personal bankruptcies. The proposal didn’t give specifics, but called a 20 percent fee charged by some companies “predatory.”

“Half of all personal bankruptcies are caused by medical debt,” Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, said in a statement. “And now, with federal reforms, it’s even harder for people to declare bankruptcy if medical bills have piled up too high.”

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