Rhode Island Advances Medical Debt Collection Requirements

Prohibitions on credit reporting and garnishing wages regarding medical debt will start in January 2026, and new limits on medical debt interest are now in effect.

Prohibitions on credit reporting and

Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signed two measures on medical debt collection into law this month.

The bills received overwhelming backing from the state legislature, passing with substantial majorities or unanimous approval.

Medical Debt Garnishment and Liens

Rhode Island joined other states focusing on medical debt legislation this year with the passage of S 0169/H 5184. The law took effect immediately with the governor’s approval.

Under the new law, debt collectors are prohibited from reporting medical debt to credit bureaus, garnishing a consumer’s wages or salary, as well as issuing judgments against a consumer’s primary residence based on medical debt.

Medical debt i defined in the law as “an obligation of a consumer to pay an amount for the receipt of health care services (as defined by Section 27-81-3), products or devices, owed to a health care facility or a health care professional (as defined by Sections 27-81-3 and 6-60-1).”

Medical Debt Interest

Rhode Island also passed an interest rate cap on medical debt, which carries the same definition as the law on medical debt credit reporting.

The law, S 0172, states, “Interest on medical debt shall be limited to the rate of interest equal to the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treasury yield, but not less than 1.5% percent per annum nor more than 4% per annum as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the calendar week preceding the date when the consumer was first provided with a bill.”

The interest rate cap only applies to debts incurred after the effective date of the law, which is Jan. 1, 2026.

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