2021: Fitzpatrick Voted Against Prohibiting The Debt Collection From
Medical Bills Until Two Years After The First Due Payment And
Prohibiting The Inclusion Of The Accumulated Medical Debt On Credit
Reports. In May 2021, Fitzpatrick voted against the Comprehensive Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 2021 which would, according to
Congressional Quarterly, "prohibit attempts to collect debt arising from
medical services until two years after the date the first payment is due
and prohibit the inclusion of debt arising from a medically necessary
procedure on a credit report." The vote was on passage. The House passed
the bill by a vote of 215-207. The Senate did not take substantive
action on the bill. [House Vote 141,
5/13/21; Congressional
Quarterly, 5/13/21;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
2547]
2020: Fitzpatrick Voted For The FY 2021 Omnibus Appropriations And
Coronavirus Relief, Which Prevented Surprise Medical Billing For
Unexpected Out-Of-Network Care And Established An Arbitration Process To
Dispute Payments Starting In January 2022. In December 2020,
Fitzpatrick voted for the second portion of the FY2021 Omnibus
Appropriations and Coronavirus Relief package which would, according to
Congressional Quarterly, "include a measure to prevent 'surprise'
medical billing by insurance providers for unexpected out-of-network
care and establish an arbitration process to resolve related payment
disputes." The vote was on concurring in Senate amendment with portion
of the amendment. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 359-53 and
sent to the President and ultimately became law. [House Vote 251,
12/21/20; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/21/20;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
133]