House passes bipartisan bill to help patients avoid medical debt
Rep. Nate Davidson May 13, 2025
HARRISBURG, May 13 – In a move to help fight medical debt, the Pennsylvania House today passed bipartisan legislation that would ensure patients are better informed about hospital-based financial assistance programs and how to access them, announced the bill’s co-prime sponsor, state Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny.
House Bill 79, which Venkat introduced with state Reps. Nate Davidson, Tarik Khan, Bridget M. Kosierowski, Andrew Kuzma, Jim Rigby and Tim Twardzik, would mandate the development of standardized, plain-language hospital financial aid forms, which would be shared with patients on intake and discharge, displayed on billing paperwork and posted publicly on hospital and state health websites.
“Hospital-based financial aid can help patients avoid life-altering medical debt, yet many patients are unaware that these programs even exist or how to access them,” said Venkat, an emergency physician and legislator who sits on the House Health Committee. “Our legislation would make sure patients receive this information in a standardized, easily understandable format so they can reap the benefits of these programs. Our bill would also require hospitals to suspend billing pending a decision on the patient’s application. Making the system more accessible and user-friendly for patients will help prevent all Pennsylvanians from accumulating medical debt.”
“As a nurse practitioner, I’ve seen how crushing medical debt is for patients,” said Khan, D-Phila. “Our bill would help ensure people are aware of the financial assistance they’re eligible for while hospitalized, to help save them from going into medical debt in the first place. I’m very grateful to Representative Venkat and my fellow co-prime sponsors for their hard work on this bill.”
Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, said: “For nearly 30 years, I have served the people of our commonwealth as a Registered Nurse, where I worked in areas from bedside to surgery procedures. During that time, I encountered many families who experienced devastating health care issues that too often led to medical bills beyond their means – sometimes exceeding a million dollars. Now, as a state legislator, I see these tragic issues hitting even more families, leaving them to declare bankruptcy or sell their homes to satisfy growing medical costs. This legislation would offer the needed help to low-income Pennsylvanians in an equitable way. I’m very glad to see my colleagues support this necessary and compassionate legislation.”
“Too many Pennsylvanians are burdened with debt simply because they chose to receive treatment for an illness,” said Davidson, D-Cumberland/Dauphin. “In particular, cancer patients are over 70% more likely than other individuals to experience the devastating consequences of medical debt, have bills in collections and face tax liens or foreclosure. Those cancer patients with medical debt are three times as likely to not pursue treatment, even in the face of increased mortality. This legislation is a positive step toward addressing the issue of medical debt in the commonwealth and ensuring that Pennsylvanians are not forced to forgo life-saving treatment because of the cost.”
“I am always supportive of innovative ways to benefit the lives of Pennsylvanians,” said Kuzma, R-Allegheny/Washington. “Thank you to Representative Venkat for being on the forefront in addressing this issue.”
“Well over a million people in Pennsylvania have medical debt in collections,” said Twardzik, R-Schuylkill. “This places an overwhelming burden on individuals and families who are already dealing with life-altering health diagnoses. Our bill would ensure patients are notified of available hospital-based financial assistance and simplify the application process so patients can understand the existing programs designed to help them. By creating a more transparent, consistent and streamlined approach, we can help protect residents from the crushing effects of medical debt. This is not only a benefit to patients, but to health systems and insurance providers as well.”
“Over 90,000 Pennsylvanians will hear ‘you have cancer’ for the first time in 2025,” said Donna Greco, Pennsylvania’s government relations director with the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. “Cancer treatment can be very costly, and when medical debt begins to pile up, it can cause people to delay or forgo care altogether. Making financial assistance programs more accessible throughout the commonwealth will help prevent medical debt from piling up in the first place for people with cancer and other health concerns.”
“A trip to the emergency room for a car accident or medical crisis, a planned surgery or even the birth of a child can mean hundreds or even thousands in unexpected medical bills that most Pennsylvanians simply can’t afford to pay, leading to widespread medical debt,” said Erin Gabriel, government representative from the Pennsylvania Health Access Network. “House Bill 79 would prevent medical debt before a patient ever receives a bill by making it easier for patients to learn about and access hospitals' existing programs for receiving free or discounted care.”
More than 50 national, state and regional health and community organizations have submitted a letter urging the House to pass the legislation.
The bill passed by a vote of 187-16.