S. 4350: COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2020
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S. 4350: COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2020
116th Congress · introduced 2020-07-29 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-07-29 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2020
Plain summary
COVID-19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2020 This bill temporarily limits certain activities to collect medical debts by health care providers that apply for, or accept, COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus 2019) financial relief. Specifically, such health care providers must suspend extraordinary collection actions, such as selling a debt to a third-party collector or placing a lien on an individual's property, until the later of the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency or 18 months after the enactment of this bill. Further, individuals who have entered into medical debt repayment plans with health care providers may request the suspension of payments during such period. Providers must provide reasonable repayment options for individuals once repayments resume, such as extending repayment periods. The bill also applies specified consumer protections to medical debt incurred for COVID-19-related testing and treatment between February 1, 2020, and 60 days after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2020
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] · 4 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] reported raising $2.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s4350.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s4350 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116