By: Rebecca Sanin

Posted on: June 30th, 2023

Read on: Newsday 

Many health crises result in the emotional and physical burden of fear, but this is made exponentially worse when signing off on needed care results in medical debt causing bankruptcy, poor credit or other financially disastrous outcomes. Many Long Islanders choose between medical care and necessities, and they fear the financial impact of accessing care.

The State Legislature recently passed the Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act, a first step in ensuring that people facing burdensome medical bills will not have their credit adversely affected. As the mental health crisis facing New Yorkers continues to be a prominent governing concern, protecting families who courageously access care should be a top priority.

Necessary medical access can often be triggered by an unexpected health calamity. When treatment results in ruined credit, families can face difficulty being housed, higher insurance premiums, difficulty accessing loans and increased destabilization.

Passage of this bill is the first step in reducing the financial health burdens of treating disease or injury. This needs to be signed into law to protect all New Yorkers’ access to medical care.