Statute of Limitation Changes will Impact Ohio Hospitals and Providers

In late February, the Ohio House of Representatives unanimously passed a statute of limitations bill that will decrease the statute of limitations on consumer transactions from eight (8) years to six (6) years. The bill, which is expected to be signed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, would become law 90 days after being signed. This means you have just over three months to plan for these changes, which will also be retroactive from the day of signing. 

 This bill decreases the time previously allowed for collections, which will directly impact facilities and providers that are working with a collection agency or internally to recover past due revenue. Continue reading to learn about the bill and what Americollect is doing to prepare for this change. 

What does the bill say? 

While the bill influences several areas, the specific section that affects hospitals and providers in Ohio reads: 

 Except as provided in sections 1303.16, 1345.10, and 2305.04 of the Revised Code, and notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, section 1302.98, and division (B) of section 2305.03 of the Revised Code, an action arising out of a consumer transaction incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, based upon any contract, agreement, obligation, liability, or promise, express or implied, including an account stated, whether or not reduced to writing or signed by the party to be charged by that transaction, shall be commenced within six years after the cause of action accrued. For purposes of this division, a cause of action accrues thirty calendar days after the date of the last charge or payment by, or on behalf of, the consumer, whichever is later. 

What does this mean for you? 

Facilities and providers will now have six years instead of eight to recover revenue, but it’s not a static timeline, rather based on what they call a, “cause of action.” 

 According to the bill, a cause of action accrues 30 calendar days after the date of the last charge or payment by, or on behalf of, the consumer, whichever is later. This means the clock doesn’t start ticking until 1) after the last charge made by the facility or provider, or 2) the last time a payment is made on the account and is reset if another payment is made. 

What is Americollect doing? 

Americollect is currently updating our processes to work with the requirements of the new bill. This includes updating programs that evaluate the date of delinquency or date of last payment for each account to cancel those that are past the new allotted time of six years instead of eight years. We are also updating our internal action codes for Ohio clients. As always, we are more than happy to help you understand how this bill will impact your facility. 

 While the Ohio governor has not signed the bill, he is expected to, which is why we are working to have our system ready for this change. If you have any questions, please reach out and we will help guide you through the upcoming changes.