# Maryland — State limits on medical debt interest, garnishment and lawsuits

For Maryland, statute is §19–214.2; delay before interest may start is The determination of possible interest payments for patients who do not qualify for free or reduced–cost care, which may not begin before 240 days after the initial bill is provided;; minimum debt before a lawsuit is allowed is (6) Prohibit the hospital from filing a civil action to collect a debt against a patient whose outstanding debt is at or below $500;; limit on selling the debt or garnishing wages is (4) A hospital may not request a writ of garnishment of wages or file an action that would result in an attachment of wages against a patient to collect debt owed on a hospital bill if the patient is eligible for free or reduced–cost care under § 19–214.1 of this subtitle; notes is the hospital may not request the issuance of or otherwise knowingly take action that would cause a court to issue: 1. A body attachment against a patient; or 2. An arrest warrant against a patient, verified against its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** Maryland _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute:** §19–214.2 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Delay before interest may start:** The determination of possible interest payments for patients who do not qualify for free or reduced–cost care, which may not begin before 240 days after the initial bill is provided; _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Minimum debt before a lawsuit is allowed:** (6) Prohibit the hospital from filing a civil action to collect a debt against a patient whose outstanding debt is at or below $500; _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Limit on selling the debt or garnishing wages:** (4) A hospital may not request a writ of garnishment of wages or file an action that would result in an attachment of wages against a patient to collect debt owed on a hospital bill if the patient is eligible for free or reduced–cost care under § 19–214.1 of this subtitle. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Notes:** the hospital may not request the issuance of or otherwise knowingly take action that would cause a court to issue: 1. A body attachment against a patient; or 2. An arrest warrant against a patient. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_

## What the source says

> §19–214.2. IN EFFECT (a) (1) Each hospital annually shall submit to the Commission:

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Delay before interest may start

> The determination of possible interest payments for patients who do not qualify for free or reduced–cost care, which may not begin before 240 days after the initial bill is provided;

### Minimum debt before a lawsuit is allowed

> (6) Prohibit the hospital from filing a civil action to collect a debt against a patient whose outstanding debt is at or below $500;

### Limit on selling the debt or garnishing wages

> (4) A hospital may not request a writ of garnishment of wages or file an action that would result in an attachment of wages against a patient to collect debt owed on a hospital bill if the patient is eligible for free or reduced–cost care under § 19–214.1 of this subtitle.

### Notes

> (ii) If a hospital files an action to collect the debt owed on a hospital bill, the hospital may not request the issuance of or otherwise knowingly take action that would cause a court to issue: 1. A body attachment against a patient; or 2. An arrest warrant against a patient.

## Source

- https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=ghg&section=19-214.2&enactments=false

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2026-12-29.
Part of [State limits on medical debt interest, garnishment and lawsuits](https://referencesource.org/medical-debt-collection-restrictions-by-state/).