Oklahoma Governor Signs Medical Debt Collection Bill

For some Oklahoma hospitals, collecting unpaid patient accounts just got a little easier.

Governor Mary Fallin has signed Senate Bill 945 into law. The legislation widens the reach of the state’s tax warrant intercept program to include “medical services rendered by state agencies under the statutes,” according to an article in the Norman Transcript.

Oklahoma University Medical Center is among the hospitals that will benefit from expanded state government coordination under the new law.

State Senator Rob Standridge (R-Norman), who co-authored the bill, told the Norman Transcript:

“This program simply enables state government to more efficiently collect debts. And it only makes sense that debt owed to facilities like OU Medical Center should fall under the statute. It stands to reason that state government should not send tax refunds to those who owe money to the government, without first collecting the sum owed.”

Legislators expect the new law to result in the recovery of millions of dollars of previously uncollected patient A/R.