Low-income New Mexicans may not know about law protecting them from medical bill collections

LAS CRUCES − Patients are suing MountainView Regional Medical Center over its collections practices, arguing in a class-action claim that the hospital has ignored a 2021 state law protecting low-income New Mexicans.

The Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act established protections for patients earning less than twice the federal poverty line, but attorneys for the MountainView patients say the hospital has continued to file motions for default judgments and seek to garnish wages for patients protected under the Act.

Nicolas Cordova, a staff attorney with the New Mexico Center on Poverty and Law, said many New Mexicans who need those protections are unaware of the law. The nonprofit is assisting Las Cruces patient Ruby Ramirez and unnamed plaintiffs in a class action suit in New Mexico's Third District Court.

"That's definitely one of the goals of this (litigation)," he said, "to make sure that people who don't know about their rights can actually benefit from the law."

What is the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act?

S.B. 71, or the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act, was passed by the New Mexico Legislature during its 2021 session and signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill's sponsors were state Sens. Katy Duhigg and Martin Hickey and then-Rep. Deborah Armstrong, all Democrats from Albuquerque.

The law took effect on July 1, 2021.

Who does the law protect?

The law protects patients whose household income falls below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which in 2022 is $27,750 for a family of four.

The prohibition applies to collections activity including selling medical debt to another party (like collections agencies), and legal actions such as placing liens on patients’ property or seizing bank accounts, garnishing wages or suing the patient.

It applies to any health facilities licensed by the New Mexico Department of Health excluding adult daycare centers, child care centers and shelters.

What are providers required to do?

Providers are required to screen patients for their income and insurance status before seeking payment for emergency or medically necessary care, and to provide that information to any third-party providers.

"That protection exists in statute, and the implementing regulations basically put the responsibility on the hospital, the provider, etc., who wants to sue a patient or wants to send them to collections to do their homework first, to make sure that they legally can do so," Cordova said.

Although eligible patients may be charged for services, collections proceedings are to be terminated once a patient is determined to be indigent based on their income.

For providers, the New Mexico Office of the Superintendent of Insurance is to provide guidance for federal, state and other resources to cover costs of care.

All medical bills are required to include a notification as to whether the facility screened the patient for programs helping cover healthcare costs and whether it has billed insurance or other programs.

Who enforces the law?

The state Attorney General is charged with enforcing the act and establishing a process for patients to file complaints against health care facilities and providers, creditors or debt collectors that violate the law.

The complaints are public records subject to the Inspection of Public Records Act, but complainants' names and other personally identifying information are protected from disclosure as provided under IPRA.

The Attorney General's Office allows for complaints to be submitted online via www.NMag.gov/contact-us/file-a-complaint/. "Patient debt collection" is among the categories of complaints permitted on the form.

Complaints may also be submitted on paper or via staff of the office's Advocacy and Intervention Division. The toll free number for the division is 844-255-9210. The Attorney General's website lists three field offices for the division:

Santa Fe

• 408 Galisteo Street
• Telephone: 505-490-4060 

Albuquerque

• 201 3rd St. NW, Suite 300
• Telephone: 505-717-3500

Las Cruces

• 201 N. Church St., Suite 315
• Telephone: 575-339-1120

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.