On this episode of Behind the Byline, host Jaden Jefferson talks with Ohio State Rep. Michele Grim (D-Toledo) about a legislative bill she introduced in May: The Ohio Medical Debt Fairness Act.
This legislation, which currently awaits assignment to a House Committee, will regulate medical debt standards. Grim co-sponsored the bill with Ohio State Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland), giving the bill bipartisan support.
During this episode, Grim talks about how the bill will:
- ban hospitals and creditors from reporting medical debt to a credit bureau
- ban wage garnishment due to a medical bill
- Cap medical debt interest rate at 3 percent
“Medical debt is the No. 1 reason why people go into bankruptcy and is nobody’s fault,” she stated on the podcast.
Grim first tackled medical debt on the local level when she was an at-large member on Toledo city council. She led that initiative to eliminate medical debt in the Northwest Ohio region, so far abolishing debt for 112K Lucas County residents and eliminating $230M in medical debt.
Grim is serving her second term in the Ohio House, representing House District 43.
New episodes of the Behind the Byline drop every Wednesday on the Pod Station.
Behind the Byline is a production of the Toledo Free Press.
