New legislation protects New Jersey residents from medical debt

TRENTON, N.J. (PIX11) — It was an emotional day in State House as a new medical debt act became law with a namesake in memory of a woman who helped make it possible.

Described as a bright, hard-working policy analyst for the governor’s office, Louisa Carman was among those who worked on legislation to protect more New Jerseyans from medical debt.

On New Year’s Day, Carman was killed in a car accident in Middlesex County. She was just 25 years old.

“She was such a dedicated public servant. She was so passionate about the work she was doing,” said Sabnam Salih, the inaugural director of the NJ Office of Healthcare Affordability and who worked with Carman personally.

On Monday, her family stood by Governor Phil Murphy as he signed the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act into law.

“It will protect generations of New Jerseyans from falling into medical debt and facing the risk of financial ruin,” said Murphy.

Under the law, collectors are prohibited from reporting a patient’s medical debt to a credit agency or charging an interest rate on medical debt of more than 3 percent per year. The law will make sure patients won’t receive a bill while they’re still in a hospital bed, and will keep bills out of collections longer.

“In short, the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act will bring dignity to the medical bill payment process. It will keep more of our State’s families out of debt and it will provide patients the time and the peace of mind they need to fully recover,” said Murphy.

The legislation has long been a goal of Murphy’s – he mentioned it in goals he laid out in his State of the State address earlier this year.

He said more than 1 in 10 New Jerseyans have medical debt in collections.

“I’m proud of a lot of steps we’ve taken in healthcare affordability and accessibility – I’d say we’re the proudest of this one,” said Murphy. “Louisa personally -literally- lugged this bill across the goal line.”

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