Active 2026 legislation is currently moving through the Michigan legislature that could significantly restrict how medical debt judgments are enforced. Until that legislation passes, current Michigan law does not ban wage garnishment; collectors with a court judgment can legally take up to 25% of your disposable earnings. The statute of limitations for a collector to … Read more
Maine is currently advancing 2026 legislation that proposes significant new restrictions on medical debt wage garnishment. While that legislation is pending, current rules still allow collectors to garnish a portion of your disposable earnings if they successfully sue you. Maine residents rely on federal FCRA guidelines for credit reporting, as the state has not yet … Read more
Louisiana’s Undue Medical Debt program has forgiven large pools of medical debt, but you must manually verify with your hospital if your account was included. For debts that are not forgiven, the state enforces a strict 3-year “prescription” period (statute of limitations), meaning older debts may already be time-barred. Louisiana does not ban wage garnishment; … Read more
Florida offers a powerful “head of family” wage exemption that can completely protect the primary earner’s paycheck from medical debt garnishment. This exemption is not automatic. You must proactively file paperwork to claim it if a collector attempts to garnish your wages after winning a lawsuit. If you do not qualify for the head of … Read more
As of July 1, 2024, a new Connecticut law strictly prohibits healthcare providers and collection agencies from reporting medical debt to credit bureaus. Connecticut does not ban wage garnishment for medical debt; collectors who secure a court judgment can still garnish up to 25% of your disposable earnings. The statute of limitations for collectors to … Read more
Arizona passed Proposition 209 in 2022, introducing aggressive consumer protections that cap interest rates on medical debt and vastly increase asset exemptions. Arizona is not a wage garnishment ban state. Collectors can seek to garnish up to 25% of your disposable earnings with a court judgment. There is no state-level credit reporting ban in Arizona; … Read more
Hospital bills are uniquely complex because they usually involve layered billing: you will get one bill from the facility itself and separate bills from independent doctors who treated you there. When standard billing department calls lead nowhere, hospitals have specific internal resources you can use, starting with the patient advocate office. If an issue remains … Read more
Never verbally acknowledge that you owe the debt or make an oral promise to pay on a recorded line, as this can legally revive old accounts. Do not verify your sensitive personal information (like your full SSN) to an inbound caller until you have independently confirmed they are a legitimate agency. Never give a collector … Read more
The California medical debt statute of limitations is generally 4 years from the date of your last payment or first delinquency. California offers a unique protection: a verbal promise to pay does not restart the legal clock on your debt. Only a written agreement or a partial payment will reset it. Under the Rosenthal Act, … Read more
Deliberately allowing a medical bill to go to collections is a real financial strategy based on how debt buyers operate, not necessarily a moral failure. The primary costs of this strategy are a potential 50 to 100-point credit score drop (for debts over $500) and the risk of facing a lawsuit if the balance is … Read more