There’s an interesting new effort out of Arizona to introduce a citizen’s referendum on the ballot to eliminate certain underhanded predatory debt collection tactics. The movement is spearheaded by a group called Healthcare Rising Arizona and their information can be found at www.healthcarerisingaz.org. They bill their efforts as a fight for the rights and protections of healthcare workers and patients across the state, and advocate for bringing together all voices of individuals who are impacted by Arizona’s healthcare system. They hope to use this collective power to push for real legal policy change that Arizona’s legislature has so far been unwilling to make.
One of the ways in which they currently work to achieve this goal is by fighting to put the Predatory Debt Collection Practice Act on Arizona’s ballot for the 2022 election.
According to Healthcare Rising, interest rates of medical debt in Arizona can increase by as much as 10 percent each year. Debt collectors can take homes, repossess cars, or garnish wages. The Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act aims to:
- Protect more assets of debtors so that collectors cannot take those assets and sell them off;
- Allow debtors to safely keep more money in bank accounts that creditors cannot garnish;
- Decrease the amount of wages that debt collectors can garnish; and
- Limit the sky-high interest rates that debt collectors can charge
The purpose behind this referendum is not to stop debt collectors from collecting on debts. Rather it would limit the more extreme tactics debt collectors use to trap debtors in a never-ending cycle of debt.
Volunteers have been out pounding the pavement in an effort to gather enough signatures to put the referendum on the ballot for the 2022 election in hopes that Arizonans can vote on the measure on November 8, 2022. The group must gather 237, 645 valid signatures by July 7, 2022.
The initiative would make several important adjustments to Arizona law, including the following:
- Increase the protectable value of a home from $150,000 to $400,000;
- Increase the value of protectable household furniture, including electronics and appliances, from $6,000 to $15,000;
- Increase the value of protectable cars from $6,000 to $15,000, and if the debtor or debtor’s dependent has a physical disability, the protectable value of a vehicle increases to $25,000;
- Increase the amount of money a debtor can keep in a bank account without fear of garnishment from $300 to $5,000;
- Decrease the amount of wages a creditor may garnish from 25% of disposable earnings to 10% of disposable earnings;
- Set the maximum interest rate for medical debt at 3% per year;
- The amounts here will also annually adjust based on cost of living increases.
It’s currently unknown where Healthcare Rising is on gathering signatures, but there are several ways that individuals can help. You can become a member of Healthcare Rising Arizona here and donate to the cause. Their website also lists other ways to get involved, including becoming a leader, attending virtual events, contacting lawmakers, signing and circulating petitions, making phone calls and sharing posts on social media. You can get more information about that here. And if you’ve had the following problems in Arizona, Healthcare Rising wants to hear from you here:
- Access to healthcare, including difficulty in making appointments, obtaining prescriptions, or scheduling surgery or treatment;
- Cost of healthcare, including unexpected bills, denial of coverage, inability to afford co-pays, and inability to afford medication;
- Have medical debt that is impacting your life;
- Quality of healthcare, including misdiagnosis, ineffective treatment, inability to get clear answers or information on a medical conditions, or infection from a hospital stay;
- Increased problems with care due to pandemic
- Some other type of issue with health care
- Are a healthcare worker with lack of PPE, unsafe conditions, low pay, or who has seen poor treatment of patients;
- Live with a chronic health condition
- Provide care to a loved one with a health condition
- Are a patient or healthcare consumer who cares about this issue.
We’ll keep an eye on this referendum and update you periodically as there is news to share. In the meantime, we wish the best of luck to Healthcare Rising Arizona in their efforts to limit the impact of debt on the citizens of Arizona.
