On November 30, 2021, new rulings from the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that govern debt collection activities, including healthcare bad debt, went into effect. Meduit’s internal, cross-departmental team worked closely with legal counsel and industry experts to identify changes and implement them for clients that are using our bad debt services. Those changes are now in place, and Meduit is in compliance with the CFPB requirements. Only bad debt collection activities are affected by the new rulings.

Here is a brief update on compliance news that may be useful to your organization.

Consent for Technology Use:
Given the rising expense in such areas as postage and employee related costs, Meduit has implemented numerous technology-based collection tools that can maximize our efficiency and productivity, but consent is key to implementation. Meduit’s Compliance team is ready to review your current consent language to ensure optimization. If you want to verify that the necessary consent language is present for us to proactively and efficiently utilize these tools on your behalf, please send us your intake forms for review. We will be happy to make recommendations that will strengthen the captured consent for you.

Data and Privacy Legislation Trends:
During 2021, more than 160 consumer privacy-related bills were introduced by at least 38 states, showing the increased focus of lawmakers on data and privacy security concerns. While most of these privacy bills were limited in scope, 23 states introduced a total of 34 comprehensive consumer data privacy bills. Similar to what is laid out in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), these bills are meant to restrict the use of personal information and provide certain rights to consumers.

There has been a continued increase year over year in the number of introduced data and privacy bills, and as the 2022 legislative sessions begin, we anticipate this trend to continue. We will continue to monitor all new bills to gauge impact on Meduit and our healthcare partners, assess implementation needs and develop strategies to continue ensuring strong data protection for all accounts.

Disclosure: Please note that these are highly regulatory items that may affect the industry. All readers should discuss their specific practices and procedures with their legal counsel to ensure the best internal compliance on all accounts. While we are not attorneys, the included information is not legal advice and should not be construed as such.

For more information or questions, please contact Jill Cloys, Meduit Director of Compliance, at: jill.cloys@meduitrcm.com or call 317-284-6480