Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Bissaillon bill would prohibit home liens for medical debt

Legislation is part of Senate’s 2025 health care package

 

STATE HOUSE –Sen. Jacob E. Bissaillon has introduced legislation to prohibit the attachment of liens against Rhode Islanders’ homes because of medical debt.

The measure is part of a nine-bill legislative package that the Senate leadership is backing to remove burdensome administrative requirements that present barriers to patient care, protect patients from crushing medical debt, improve access and lower costs.

The bill (2025-S 0169) would protect the principal residence of those facing medical debt.

“Rhode Island faces a health care crisis and a housing crisis, but no Rhode Islander should have to endure both at once. For a person already struggling with illness, the threat of losing their home due to medical debt is not just cruel—it is a failure of our system to protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Senator Bissaillon (D-Dist. 1, Providence). “This legislation draws a clear line: a Rhode Islander’s home should never be collateral for medical misfortune. Medical debt is rarely a choice, yet it is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in this country. We cannot allow a person’s financial hardship to strip them of the very stability they need to rebuild their life. We must do more to lower patient costs, but we must also take action now to ensure that no one loses their home due to medical debt.”

Senator Bissaillon introduced the bill in 2024 as well, when it passed the Senate late in the legislative session.

Medical bills are among the top reasons underlying bankruptcy among Americans. A 2019 National Institute of Health study found that 66.5% of bankruptcy filers who responded indicated that medical expenses or problems contributed to their bankruptcy.

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