What’s happening: Beginning July 1, hospitals must include specific language on any document that indicates the patient agrees to pay the hospital’s bill, per Senate Bill (SB) 1061 (2024). Failure to include the required language means the hospital cannot enforce the debt.
What else to know: Documents that hospitals should review and update include, but are not limited to, the Conditions of Admission form, outpatient registration documents, and agreements to enter into extended payment plans.
If there is any uncertainty about whether a document falls under this requirement, CHA recommends including the specified language, below, by the July 1 deadline as a precaution.
A holder of this medical debt contract is prohibited by Section 1785.27 of the Civil Code from furnishing any information related to this debt to a consumer credit reporting agency. In addition to any other penalties allowed by law, if a person knowingly violates that section by furnishing information regarding this debt to a consumer credit reporting agency, the debt shall be void and unenforceable.
For more information about SB 1061, see CHA’s on-demand webinar.
