Consent to Pay for Services and Credit Card Payments

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Disclaimer

This guide was last updated on December 5, 2024 and some of the information may have since changed. The information in this guide is not legal advice and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice. If you have a legal issue, you should not rely on this information and instead speak to an attorney. 

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New York’s Consent to Pay for Services Law

New York State has enacted a new law, N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 18-C, which requires providers to obtain from clients “consent to pay for any health care services.”

The law requires that providers obtain “consent to pay for the services” they receive (1) separately from informed consent to treatment and services, (2) after the provider discusses treatment costs with the client and, (3) after the client receives the services.

The law, which was supposed to be effective October 20, 2024, will not be implemented “until further guidance is released,” according to the Department of Health in a notice dated October 18, 2024.

The notice states: “The Department of Health has received outreach and questions from a variety of stakeholders about the meaning of this provision. While the Department considers these questions, the implementation of this provision is on hold until further guidance is released.” Notably, the law is not aligned with the No Surprises Act, which requires providers to provide a Good Faith Estimate before services are provided.

Credit Cards and Payment for Health Care Services

New York has enacted an additional law, General Business Law § 519-A, which, as of October 20, 2024:

1.     Prohibits health care providers from requiring credit card pre-authorization, or that clients have a credit card on file, prior to providing medically necessary services, and

2.     Requires health care providers to notify all clients “about the risks of paying for medical services with a credit card. Such notification shall highlight the fact that by using a credit card to pay for medical services, the patient is forgoing state and federal protections that regard medical debt.” The law gives the Department of Health authority to set these requirements, but the Department of Health has not yet done so.

On October 18, 2024, the Department of Health issued a notice to general hospitals which discusses the requirements. They state:

“Each time a credit card is used to pay for services, patients must be notified of the risks of paying for medical services with a credit card, including:

i. Medical bills paid by credit card are no longer considered medical debt.

ii. By paying with credit card, patients are forgoing federal and state protections around medical debt.

iii. Protections that patients must acknowledge forgoing include:

1. Prohibitions against wage garnishment and property liens

2. Prohibitions against reporting medical debt to credit bureaus

3. Limitations on interest rates

Patients must affirmatively acknowledge forgoing these protections by paying with a credit card.”

Patients must be given the notice of credit card risks and affirmatively acknowledge that they are forgoing the specified protections every time their credit card is used to pay for health services. They should also acknowledge that they have the right to revoke their authorization of automatic credit card charges.

Updates Coming

Pepitone Law will update this guide as more information becomes available. Please check back here periodically for updates.

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