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5/8/2025
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Senate approves Burke legislation that would limit the interest rate on new medical debt
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STATE HOUSE — The Senate today approved legislation introduced by Sen. John Burke (D-Dist. 9, West Warwick) that would cap the interest rate on new medical debt. The bill is part of a package of legislation introduced in the Senate focused on addressing health care accessibility and affordability.
The bill (2025-S 0172) would cap the interest rate on new medical debt at the interest rate equal to the weekly average one-week constant maturity Treasury yield, but not less than 1.5 percent annum nor more than 4 percent annum, as published by the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve System. The interest rate would also be extended to judgments on medical debt.
“This bill curtails the unconscionable practice of profiting from and compounding the suffering of vulnerable Rhode Islanders who are struggling under the weight of medical debt,” said Senator Burke. “High interest rates for medical debt increase a burden that people already cannot bear, and further limit people’s abilities to ever escape from the debt cycle.”
The measure is one of nine that the Senate has introduced to remove burdensome administrative requirements that present barriers to patient care, protect patients from crushing medical debt, and otherwise improve access and lower costs.
It now moves to the House of Representatives where similar legislation (2025-H 5235) has been introduced by Rep. Mary Ann Shallcross Smith (D-Dist. 46, Lincoln, Pawtucket).
For more information, contact:
Daniel Trafford, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-1922
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