The National Consumer Law Center has published a guide of all the state consumer laws that are currently scheduled to go into effect at some point in 2022, providing a handy reference to anyone who needs to be aware of such changes.
For companies in the accounts receivable management industry, some notable items on the list include:
April 6 – New York Collection Lawsuits
April 30 – New York Post-Judgment Interest
May 1 – Student Loans
May 6 – New York Collection Lawsuits
June 1 – Colorado Medical Debt
June 13 – CFPB Payday Lending Rule
October 1 – Connecticut Medical Debt
That is just a sampling of the laws that are mentioned in the report. Each entry includes a summary of the law that is going into effect. For example, the NCLC has this to say about the Colorado Medical Debt law going into effect on June 1:
Most provisions of HB21-1198 go into effect on June 1, 2022. The bill deals with healthcare billing requirements for indigent patients receiving services not reimbursed through the Colorado indigent care program, and, in connection therewith, establishing procedures before initiating collection proceedings against a patient.
This list will no doubt be updated throughout the year as state legislatures reconvene and begin their lawmaking processes. Many are expecting states to continue to be actively seeking to enact laws that protect consumers from actions deemed to be overly aggressive, such as in the areas of medical debt and collection lawsuits. RMA International’s David Reid pointed out recently that there was a fourfold increase in the number of laws adopted last year impacting the accounts receivable industry, compared to pre-pandemic years. That trend is expected to continue.