Idaho Patient Act (House Bill 515) Summary

• Establishes the Idaho Patient Act to regulate medical debt collection practices by requiring health care providers to submit charges to third-party payors within 45 days and provide patients with consolidated summaries of services within 60 days before engaging in extraordinary collection actions.

• Prohibits extraordinary collection actions (debt sales, credit reporting, liens, wage garnishment, civil suits) until 90 days after patient receipt of final statement and resolution of all internal reviews and disputes.

• Caps attorney's fees and costs at $350 for uncontested judgments or $750 for contested judgments (whichever is less), or 100% of the outstanding principal amount, whichever is less, unless grossly disproportionate fees are justified by patient's willful avoidance of debt.

• Allows patients who prevail in contested judgments to recover all costs and attorney's fees from non-prevailing parties, and imposes civil penalties of $1,000 to $3,000 on entities violating collection requirements.

• Becomes effective January 1, 2021.