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Let's talk about medical bills

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New Mexico has made strides when it comes to protecting patients from surprise medical bills and aggressive debt collectors.

In 2019, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Surprise Billing Protection Act into law. It aims to eliminate expensive medical bills when a patient receives care by an out of network hospital or provider – the patient is expected only to pay the amount they would be charged if receiving care from within their network.

Another law from 2021, the Patient’s Debt Collection Protection Act, would stop hospitals from using aggressive debt collectors to go after those with lower incomes, either taking them to court or reporting to their creditors. However, lawsuits have been filed against debtors since law has been active.

These problems are exacerbated by New Mexico’s population of uninsured patients, leading hospitals to potentially overcharge them for services and to patients using Medicaid still walking away with massive bills.

On this week’s Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll discuss whether the new protections are working as intended and what steps could further reform medical billing. Have you received a surprise medical bill? What was the process to resolve it? Email letstalk@kunm.org, leave a voice message by clicking the “record” button below, or call in live Thursday morning at 8.

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Taylor is a reporter with our Poverty and Public Health project. She is a lover of books and a proud dog mom. She's been published in Albuquerque The Magazine several times and enjoys writing about politics and travel.