Definitions

§ 4925. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms\nshall have the following meanings:\n 1. "Medical debt" means an obligation or alleged obligation of a\nconsumer to pay any amount whatsoever related to the receipt of health\ncare services, products, or devices provided to a person by a hospital\nlicensed under article twenty-eight of this chapter, a health care\nprofessional authorized under title eight of the education law or an\nambulance service certified under article thirty of this chapter.\nMedical debt does not include debt charged to a credit card unless the\ncredit card is issued under an open-ended or closed-ended plan offered\nspecifically for the payment of health care services, products, or\ndevices provided to a person.\n 2. "Collection entity" means any individual, partnership, corporation,\ntrust, estate, co-operative, association, government or government\nsubdivision, agency or other entity that either purchases medical debt\nor collects medical debt on behalf of another entity.\n 3. "Consumer reporting agency" shall have the same meaning as such\nterm is defined in section three hundred eighty-a of the general\nbusiness law.\n