Governor Glenn Youngkin is contemplating what to do with 92 bills on his desk. And one involves medical debt.
Most Virginians are one medical crisis away from bankruptcy, according to advocates. That's why the General Assembly passed a bill to create some protections for people facing medical debt.
"One of the big things that it does is limit interest and late fees to three percent per year, and it prevents them from charging that interest until 90 days after the due date," says Amanda Gago Silcox of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. "It also prevents an individual being arrested, foreclosing on their home, placing a lien on their personal property or garnishing the wages of anybody who qualifies for financial assistance."
But the governor added a provision that says none of those protections will apply to existing medical debt – only future medical debt. The General Assembly rejected that amendment, which means that the bill now on the governor's desk is the one that lawmakers sent him back in February. It was introduced by Delegate Karrie Delaney, a Democrat from Fairfax County.
"Virginians need this relief immediately. They don't need it in 2026. We don't need to come back with another bill," Delaney says. "This has been a piece of legislation that we have spent a lot of time negotiating with a lot of different stakeholders during session to come out under the predatory practices that are currently available, the high interest rates that are currently affecting them and give relief immediately."
The governor has to make a decision about this bill, and dozens more, by the first week in May.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
