Section 35-4-21.1 - Medical debt relief program(a) There is hereby established a medical debt relief program to be administered by the general treasurer who has the authority to enter into a contract for the purchase, cancellation, and forgiveness of medical debts upon the following conditions: (1) That the debt was incurred in order to obtain medical services, products, and/or devices;(2) That the debts are in collection or have been sold or assigned by the original provider; and(3) That the debt is owed by a citizen of the state whose federal adjusted gross income is four hundred percent (400%) or less than the federal poverty line or whose debt is more than five percent (5%) of the citizen's adjusted gross income as measured by the prior tax return or the estimated return in the current year.(b) Any citizen of this state whose debt is discharged, cancelled, or forgiven under this section shall be provided notice of the cancellation of the debt, but shall not have the amount cancelled included in the computation of taxable income for the purpose of state income taxes.(c) For the purposes of this section, the definition of medical debts shall be liberally construed so as to not reduce the types of debt that may be subject to cancellation so long as they arise from medical transport, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and/or rehabilitation.(d) The general treasurer shall provide quarterly updates on the program to the chairpersons of the house and senate committees on finance beginning January 1, 2025.(e) The general treasurer may promulgate regulations as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.R.I. Gen. Laws § 35-4-21.1
Added by 2024 Pub. Laws, ch. 117,§ 2-1, eff. 7/1/2024.