A recent post explained the public outcry as it was learned that a big medical operation in the Twin Cities was denying care to people, even kids, who had unpaid medical debt. The Attorney General got involved to investigate whether this violated certain agreements with the state on how hospitals can collect. I don’t know that it was per se illegal for them to do this, but it appears that medical providers are less likely to deny coverage on these grounds going forward.
Of course, this policy doesn’t make the debts go away, or otherwise restrict hospitals’ ability to legal collect debt, including intercepting state tax refunds, and lawsuits, judgments and garnishments. We often help people get out from under tons of medical debt.