Canty Bill Protecting Patient Homes from Aggressive Medical Debt Collection Methods Passes Both Chambers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Working to protect homeowners from medical debt, state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, is sending a bill to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk ensuring patients’ primary residences and property cannot be used in legal action by hospitals seeking to recover unpaid medical debt.

“Medical debt can pose a crushing burden on patients and their families, and the last thing people dealing with that challenge need is to have their homes in legal jeopardy,” Canty said. “The need for a serious medical procedure shouldn’t lead to long-term financial problems, especially not threats to ownership of something as vital as housing.”

Medical debt remains one of the leading causes of bankruptcy nationwide, according to the National Library of Medicine, with nearly half of U.S. adults finding it difficult to afford healthcare. Canty backed House Bill 4461 to take an important step to protect patients’ homes and property by changing the law to disqualify any Illinois hospital from pursuing liens on patients’ primary residences during legal action should a patient have accrued medical debt.

The initiative is driven by local resident reports of aggressive collection actions, including liens being placed on homes for medical debts as low as $2,000.

“Long-term medical debt is a menace to working families right now, and I’m committed to fixing that,” Canty said. “In addition to helping craft a budget that has already relieved over a billion dollars in overdue healthcare payments, I helped pass this legislation because high-quality healthcare is a human right, and Illinois should be a state where it is affordable and accessible to every patient.”

Canty’s measure has now passed out of both chambers and awaits the governor’s consideration.