To Members of the N.C. House of Representatives, 

As future and current healthcare professionals and public health officials in North Carolina, we are committed to advancing the health, well-being, and prosperity of our patients. We believe that all North Carolinians deserve quality, affordable, and accessible health care without incurring crippling medical debt.  

Senate Bill 321 (House Bill 367), the Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act, would move us closer to achieving that goal. However, after SB 321 passed unanimously out of the Senate last year, it has been stalled in the House Rules Committee, despite broad bipartisan support. We urge you to pass SB 321, which protects your constituents against hidden costs in healthcare and ensures hospitals follow through on their commitment to provide charity care. We believe that you can be the health care champions our patients—and your constituents—need by supporting the passage of SB 321.      

The magnitude of medical debt collections in North Carolina is incompatible with our ability to serve our communities and take care of our patients’ health. One in five N.C. residents has medical debt in collections—the fourth highest percentage in the nation—with some counties exceeding 40 percent in collections.  

No one should have their wages garnished or homes taken because they couldn’t pay a hospital bill. By passing SB 321, you can eliminate these extraordinary debt collection practices, require all hospitals to post their financial assistance policy in plain language, and screen patients for Medicaid and financial assistance programs before they get charged. 

North Carolina has the 20th highest hospital prices in the United States despite ranking 40th in median household income. And while our nonprofit hospital systems receive generous tax breaks, most provide charity care valued at less than 60 percent of their exemptions. Our state’s nonprofit hospitals must fulfill their charity care obligations. We need to protect our patients’ physical and financial health, and we need to care for the most vulnerable of our uninsured and underinsured residents without perpetuating the cycle of poverty in North Carolina. 

Too many North Carolinians—including those who have health insurance—are afraid to go to the hospital at all because of the costs and hidden fees. SB 321 would help alleviate their fears by requiring hospitals to clearly post prices for services, limit facility fees and enable the Department of Health and Human Services to hold hospitals accountable for any rule violations.  

SB 321 represents an important first step in addressing medical debt. During next year’s long session, we urge you to continue strengthening patient protections and ban predatory medical credit cards, expand access to charity care, and ensure medical debt forgiveness.   

Too many North Carolina families are already being harmed by medical debt. We are counting on you to move with the urgency this matter requires and pass SB 321 during this short legislative session. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,