Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 3908 (May 7, 2020)

Summary

Statement to Assembly, No. 3908, with committee amendments, dated May 7, 2020, from the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee of the State of New Jersey, reporting Assembly Bill No. 3908 favorably. The statement describes the bill, called the COVID-19 Financial Security for Consumers Act, as covering consumer reporting agencies and people who experienced financial hardship from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, limits on medical creditors and medical debt collectors, coverage by health insurance carriers of expenses for treating coronavirus disease 2019, and a provision under which the Governor, by executive order, could preclude new executions or other post-judgment process to enforce judgments. It lists committee amendments, including a definition of affected person.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
                COMMITTEE

                         STATEMENT TO

                     ASSEMBLY, No. 3908
                        with committee amendments



       STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                            DATED: MAY 7, 2020

         The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
      reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No.
      3908.
         This bill, the “COVID-19 Financial Security for Consumers
      Act,” concerns financial security relating to the coronavirus disease
      2019 pandemic, and certain future financial security caused by
      medical debt and future declared emergencies.

      Consumer reporting agencies

         As amended, sections 1 and 2 of the bill require consumer
      reporting agencies to provide certain protections to people who
      have experienced financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus
      disease 2019 pandemic.
         As used in the bill, “covered coronavirus period” means the
      period beginning with the Public Health Emergency and State of
      Emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of
      2020 and extending 90 days following the end of that public health
      emergency and state of emergency or extending until December 1,
      2020, whichever date is sooner.
         The bill provides that an affected person may contact any
      consumer reporting agency and inform the agency that the person
      has experienced a loss of income as a result of the coronavirus
      disease 2019 pandemic.
         Any consumer reporting agency that receives such a request from
      an affected person is required to respond to the affected person
      within five days of receiving the request. The bill requires the
      agency to place an alert in the file of that consumer indicating the
      consumer has been impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019
      pandemic, and to provide that alert in any consumer report or credit
      score provided by the agency.
         The bill provides that no user of a consumer report may consider
      any adverse information that is a result of the coronavirus disease
      2019 pandemic in a consumer report pertaining to an affected
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person who provides the user with notice pursuant to the bill, or
who has an alert included in the person’s consumer report.
   The bill provides that an affected person may contact any user of
a consumer report and request that the user disregard any adverse
information related to the person in a consumer report with respect
to the covered coronavirus period.
   The bill requires a user of a consumer report that receives a
request from an affected person to respond to the affected person
within five days of receiving the request.
   The bill provides that no charge may be imposed by a consumer
reporting agency with respect to a request made by a consumer.
   The bill provides that no person may create, implement, or revise
a credit scoring model that would treat as a negative factor or value
any adverse information reported during the covered coronavirus
period if the consumer’s file or report includes an alert pursuant to
the bill.

Medical creditors and medical debt collectors

   As amended, section 3 of the bill prohibits, until 180 days after
the first bill for a medical debt has been sent, medical creditors and
medical debt collectors from taking any legal action against an
individual, including but not limited to, placing a lien on an
individual's property; attaching or seizing an individual's bank
account or any other personal property; commencing a civil action
against an individual; or garnishing an individual's wages.
   At least 30 days before taking legal action against an individual,
a medical creditor or medical debt collector is required to provide to
the individual written information on:
   (1) any financial assistance that is available for eligible
individuals;
   (2) any legal actions that may be initiated in order to obtain
payment; and
   (3) a deadline after which those legal actions may be initiated,
which date shall be no earlier than 30 days after the date of the
notice.
   The bill prohibits medical creditors and medical debt collectors
from taking legal action unless the action is described in the
creditor’s or collector’s billing and collections policy.
   The bill prohibits medical creditors and medical debt collectors
from selling an individual's debt to another party, except if, prior to
the sale, the medical creditor or medical debt collector has entered
into a legally binding written agreement with the medical debt
buyer that provides the medical debt buyer shall comply with the
requirements of the bill, and that the debt is returnable to or
recallable by the medical creditor upon a determination by the
                                  3

medical creditor or medical debt buyer that the individual is eligible
for financial assistance.
   The bill provides that, during the one year period beginning on
the date when an individual is first given a bill for medical debt, no
medical creditor or medical debt collector may communicate with
or report any information to a consumer reporting agency regarding
the medical debt.
   After the one year period has elapsed, a medical creditor or
medical debt collector is required to give an individual at least one
additional bill before reporting a medical debt to a consumer
reporting agency. The amount reported to the consumer reporting
agency shall be the same as the amount stated in the bill, and the
bill shall state that the debt is being reported to a consumer
reporting agency.
   The bill provides that a debtor or the Attorney General may bring
an action alleging a medical creditor or medical debt collector has
violated the provisions of the bill.
   The bill provides that the limitations on collection of medical debt
under the bill do not apply to medical creditors in certain situations.
Specifically, a medical creditor may take legal action against an
individual in the event that an insurance carrier or other third party has
issued a payment directly to the individual for health care services
delivered by the medical creditor, or to collect any cost-sharing that is
owed to the medical creditor pursuant to an agreement with an
insurance carrier or other third party.

Health benefits coverage for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019

   As amended, sections 4 through 7 of the bill require health
insurance carriers (health, hospital and medical service
corporations, health maintenance organizations and insurance
companies), as well as the State and School Employees’ Health
Benefits Programs and the State Medicaid program, to provide
coverage for expenses incurred in the treatment of coronavirus
disease 2019, provided that a health care professional licensed in
accordance with the provisions of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes,
or otherwise authorized to provide health care services in this State,
has issued a medical order for that treatment.
   These requirements of the bill remain in effect during the Public
Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared by the
Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020.
   The bill requires the coverage to be provided to the same extent
as for any other services under the health benefits plan, except that
no cost-sharing may be imposed on the coverage provided pursuant
to the bill.
   The bill takes effect immediately and applies to all health benefit
plans currently in effect in the State, or that are delivered, issued,
                                 4

executed or renewed in this State, or approved for issuance or
renewal in this State by the Commissioner of Banking and
Insurance, on or after the effective date of the bill.
   The bill also amends P.L.2020, c.7, to clarify that carriers and
the State Medicaid program are required to provide coverage for the
testing of coronavirus disease 2019, provided that a health care
professional licensed in accordance with the provisions of Title 45
of the Revised Statutes, or otherwise authorized to provide health
care services in this State, has issued a medical order for the testing.

Temporary cessation of certain activities for enforcing certain court
judgments or orders

   As amended, sections 8 and 9 of the bill provide that, whenever a
public health emergency or state of emergency is declared by the
Governor, during that declared emergency the Governor, by
executive order, could preclude the issuance of new executions or
other post-judgment process set forth in chapters 17 and 18 of Title
2A of the New Jersey Statutes used to enforce a judgment recovered
in, or enforce an order for the payment of money issued by, the
Superior Court, Law Division, including the Special Civil Part of
the Law Division. This action would preclude such enforcement
activities as bank levies, wage garnishments, and other means for a
judgment-creditor to collect monies owed; however, the executive
order would not apply to:
   (1) any executions or other post-judgment process to enforce a
judgment or order on a landlord-tenant matter instituted in or
transferred to the Special Civil Part, with certain exceptions
preserving the temporary cessation on enforcing an eviction or other
removal action as set forth in Executive Order 106 of 2020 that was
issued pursuant to P.L.2020, c.1 (C.2A:18-59.3); or
   (2) any executions or other post-judgment process to enforce a
judgment or order on a matter that, pursuant to the Rules of Court,
was instituted in or transferred to the Superior Court, Chancery
Division, Family Part (commonly referred to as “family court”), and
subsequently transferred to the Superior Court, Law Division.
   The executive order precluding activities would apply to any
judgment or order entered before, on, or after the day the executive
order was issued, except as described above concerning certain
landlord-tenant and all family court matters. Additionally, with
respect to any executive order issued by the Governor precluding
activities in relation to the Public Health Emergency and State of
Emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of
2020 concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, that
executive order would apply retroactively to any judgment or order
not addressing family court matters entered on or after March 9,
2020, the date the emergency was declared in Executive Order 103
                                 5

of 2020, for which an execution or post-judgment process was not
already issued.
   An executive order issued pursuant to the bill would remain in
effect for no longer than 90 days following the declared end to the
emergency.
   Proceedings on an execution or other post-judgment process used
to enforce a judgment, or enforce an order for the payment of
money, could be continued while the Governor’s executive order
remained in effect, unless a court of competent jurisdiction
determines on its own motion, or motion of any party, that
enforcement should be stayed in the interest of justice. Also,
sheriffs, Special Civil Part Officers, and their agents would be
required to refrain from acting on any newly issued execution or
other post-judgment process that fell within the scope of the
executive order. However, a court of competent jurisdiction could
determine on its own motion, or motion of any party, that
enforcement of such execution or other post-judgment is necessary
in the interest of justice.
   Lastly, for any future execution or other post-judgment process
used to enforce a judgment or order for the payment of money, the
bill would create an exemption from execution, levy, or attachment
all governmental financial assistance provided in response to the
emergency declared by Executive Order No. 103 of 2020
concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and any related
federal emergency declaration pursuant to federal law concerning
that same pandemic; however, the bill would not preclude future
executions or other post-judgment process to enforce a judgment or
order on a matter that, pursuant to the Rules of Court, was instituted
in or transferred to the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family
Part. As such, this financial assistance could not be obtained by a
judgment-creditor, except when related to actions on family court
matters, utilizing an issued execution or other post-judgment
process when attempting to enforce a judgment or order for the
payment of money.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
    The committee amendments:
    (1) Revise definitions used in sections 1 and 2 of the bill to define
“affected person” as a person who is a resident of this State and has
suffered a loss of income as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019
pandemic, and to provide that the “covered coronavirus period” shall
end 90 days after the end of Executive Order 103 of 2020, or on
December 1, 2020, whichever is sooner.
    (2) Remove requirements in the bill that require consumer
reporting agencies to report certain information to the Division of
Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
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    (3) Delete section 3 of the bill, which removes the bill’s limitations
on creditors and debt collectors during the covered coronavirus period.
    (4) Provide that the limitations on collection of medical debt under
the bill do not apply to medical creditors in certain situations.
Specifically, the amendments allow a medical creditor to take legal
action against an individual in the event that an insurance carrier or
other third party has issued a payment directly to the individual for
health care services delivered by the medical creditor, or to collect any
cost-sharing that is owed to the medical creditor pursuant to an
agreement with an insurance carrier or other third party.
    (5) Provide that the limitations on collection of medical debt under
the bill do not apply to debts owed for services provided to animals.
   (6) Clarify that the State Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare programs
are required to provide coverage and payment for expenses incurred
in the treatment or testing of coronavirus disease 2019, provided
that a licensed health care professional licensed in accordance with
the provisions of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, or otherwise
authorized to provide health care services in this State, has issued a
medical order for that treatment.
    (7) Provide that, the Governor, by executive order, may
preclude the issuance of certain new executions or other post-
judgment process used to enforce a judgment or order for the
payment of money, not including any landlord-tenant matters
instituted in or transferred to the Special Civil Part, with certain
exceptions.
    (8) Make technical amendments to the bill.


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