New Minnesota law could be game-changer for those with medical debt, officials say

Minnesota's newest law could change the game for anyone with medical debt. WCCO's Adam Duxter shares how now the focus is turning to spreading the word so people know what's new. In a packed room of lawmakers, Minnesota's Attorney General is celebrating their most recent work. We heard so many Minnesotans. We talked to a lot of people and they told us how they had fallen victim to some unfair and undignified elements in our debt system. As of yesterday, the state's Debt Fairness Act in place, changing the impact medical debt can have on Minnesotans. People want to pay their medical bills. I've never met anybody who didn't want to try to pay any debt that they owe. But it's not fair when our debt systems punish people for getting sick or force people further into debt so they can't pay for their family's essentials. Under the new law, medical debt can't impact your credit score. Providers can't withhold care because of it. And if you pass, your debt does not pass to your spouse. While battling life-threatening illnesses, probably during the hardest time in their lives, some couples in loving marriages have been forced into divorce to shield one another from medical debt. In other cases, like my mom's, the surviving spouse ends up in bankruptcy. Saturday, a free drop-in clinic at North Point in Minneapolis. Lawyer Sessions working to help people with debt right away. My other hope is that people feel like there's some hope, right? I have the opportunity to take care of this debt that I felt like I could not take care of. Adam Doxter, WCCO News. That clinic will be this Saturday from 10 until 5. Organizers are asking anyone who attends to bring a printed copy of their credit report.