# District of Columbia B26-0438: Medical Debt Mitigation Amendment Act of 2025 District of Columbia B26-0438, Medical Debt Mitigation Amendment Act of 2025, is a Council Period 26 (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Christina Henderson (Democratic); status became law, last action 2026-08-28 (Law L26-0172, Effective from Aug 20, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 012067); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0438-26 - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: District of Columbia B26-0438 - State: District of Columbia - Session: Council Period 26 (2025-2026) - Title: Medical Debt Mitigation Amendment Act of 2025 - Status: became law - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-10-20 - Last action: 2026-08-28, Law L26-0172, Effective from Aug 20, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 012067 - Sponsor: Christina Henderson (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (26 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 11 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Free and discounted care for patients: benefit, high. Covered facilities must provide financial help for medically necessary care to eligible patients living in their service areas. Care is free for households earning at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Eligible out-of-pocket costs fall 75% for incomes above 200% through 300%, 60% above 300… - Limits on reporting patients’ medical debt: benefit, medium. Providers and debt collectors cannot report the amount or existence of a patient’s medical debt to consumer reporting agencies. This does not stop an agency from reporting debt it independently knows about. The law therefore limits medical-debt reporting without guaranteeing removal of all medical… - Lower interest and safer repayment terms: benefit, medium. Medical debt interest is capped at 3% a year. Debt for covered-facility care carries no interest while the patient receives financial assistance and has not defaulted. Facilities and collection entities cannot demand the full balance or declare default before three consecutive months of missed paym… - Medical debt safeguards homes and wages: benefit, medium. Providers and collectors cannot place a medical-debt lien on a patient’s primary home. They cannot take wages for medical debt when annual household income is below 500% of the federal poverty level. Hospital liens on recovery awards are capped at 33% of the award. For insured accident patients, th… - More time before medical debt collection: benefit, medium. Providers and collectors must wait 180 days after receipt of the first posted medical bill before starting collection. Patients must receive at least 90 days’ notice; covered-facility notices must explain free or discounted care and applications. Covered facilities and their collectors cannot colle… - Patients gain protections against medical loans: benefit, medium. Providers cannot complete or help complete medical lending applications, or promote medical credit while patients are sedated or receiving treatment. Promotion in treatment areas is also barred unless no separate area exists on site. At covered facilities, providers must offer or conduct financial-… - Relief from medical debt court judgments: benefit, medium. Courts cannot revive old judgments used to collect medical debt covered by the law. A facility or collector must seek a court remedy when an unscreened patient with a judgment later qualifies for assistance. Remedies include canceling the judgment and attempting a payment plan, or reducing or parti… - Affordable payment plans for discounted care: benefit, medium. Patients approved for reduced-cost care must be offered monthly payments capped at 3% of monthly household income. Higher payments are allowed at the patient’s written request or through an existing higher-percentage plan in the same health system. The first payment cannot be due until at least 30… - Easier access to medical bill help: benefit, medium. Before non-emergency medically necessary care, covered facilities must offer screening to uninsured patients and patients meeting listed public-assistance or homelessness criteria. Qualifying household members also trigger screening; patients who apply and document a qualifying criterion are deemed… - Patients get estimates before medical care: benefit, low. Covered facilities must provide a good-faith cost estimate before medically necessary care, except in emergencies. Uninsured patients receive an estimate of the service’s cost. Insured patients receive an estimate of their expected share under their health plan. - Stronger oversight of patient financial help: benefit, low. Covered facilities must maintain financial-assistance policies to keep their certificate-of-need approvals in good standing. They must report annual assistance, medical-debt, collection, and resale data to the Department of Health. The Department must publish reports, corrective action plans, and f… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Christina Henderson (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-06-02 | House | Final Reading, CC | pass | 13 | 0 | | | 2026-05-05 | House | First Reading, CC | pass | 13 | 0 | | ## Actions (15) - 2026-08-28: Law L26-0172, Effective from Aug 20, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 012067 (House) - 2026-07-10: Act A26-0365 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 009402 (House) - 2026-07-09: Transmitted to Congress (House) - 2026-07-06: Returned from Mayor (House) - 2026-07-02: Enacted without Mayor's Signature with Act Number A26-0365 (House) - 2026-06-16: Transmitted to Mayor, Response Due on Jul 01, 2026 (House) - 2026-06-02: Legislative Meeting (House) - 2026-05-05: Legislative Meeting (House) - 2026-04-07: Committee Mark-up of B26-0438 by the Health Committee (House) - 2025-12-15: Public Hearing on B26-0438 (House) - 2025-11-14: Notice of Public Hearing Published in the District of Columbia Register (House) - 2025-11-12: Notice of Public Hearing filed in the Office of Secretary by Health (House) - 2025-10-24: Notice of Intent to Act on B26-0438 Published in the District of Columbia Register (House) - 2025-10-21: Referred to Committee on Health (House) - 2025-10-20: B26-0438 Introduced by Councilmember Henderson at Office of the Secretary (House) ## Bill text - Enrollment, 2026-06-02: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/60562/Meeting2/Enrollment/B26-0438-Enrollment1.pdf?Id=239889) - Engrossment, 2026-05-05: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/60562/Meeting1/Engrossment/B26-0438-Engrossment1.pdf?Id=238230) - Introduced, 2025-10-20: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/60562/Introduction/B26-0438-Introduction.pdf?Id=225389) ## Related bills - B26-0047: Funeral Directors Licensing Reform Amendment Act of 2025 (signed) - B26-0785: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Rental Vehicle Sales Tax Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 (signed) - B26-0663: Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Temporary Act of 2026 (signed) - B26-0181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act of 2025 (signed) - B26-0735: Special Education for Young Adults in the Custody of the Department of Corrections Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (signed) - B26-0760: Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (signed) ## Sources - [Enrollment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/60562/Meeting2/Enrollment/B26-0438-Enrollment1.pdf?Id=239889) - [Engrossment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/60562/Meeting1/Engrossment/B26-0438-Engrossment1.pdf?Id=238230) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/60562/Introduction/B26-0438-Introduction.pdf?Id=225389) ## Related - [B26-0047: Funeral Directors Licensing Reform Amendment Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0047-26) - [B26-0785: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Rental Vehicle Sales Tax Clarification Emergency Amend…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0785-26) - [B26-0663: Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Temporary Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0663-26) - [B26-0181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0181-26) - [B26-0735: Special Education for Young Adults in the Custody of the Department of Correcti…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0735-26) - [B26-0760: Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarificati…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0760-26) - [District of Columbia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/district-of-columbia/bills) - [District of Columbia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/district-of-columbia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0438-26 (as of 2026-11-04).