S. 355: COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-02-22 · 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 2021-02-22 · 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.

What does this mean?

Official title

COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2021

Plain summary

COVID-19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2021 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, such health care providers must notify individuals who have entered into medical debt repayment plans that they 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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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

COVID–19 Medical Debt Collection Relief Act of 2021

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

Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Christopher Murphy (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)

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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-117s355.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s355 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117