Maine LD 2129 Bars Medical Debt Liens and Wage Seizure
Summary
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed LD 2129 into law on April 6, 2026, prohibiting medical debt collectors from placing liens on a consumer's principal residence or garnishing wages. The law also bars courts from enforcing wage garnishment orders based on medical debt and prohibits collection of interest on judgments related to liens or attachments on a debtor's principal residence. The legislation expands Maine's prior medical debt protections enacted under LD 558 in June 2025, which barred medical debt reporting to consumer reporting agencies. The law takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the current legislature's second regular session.
What changed
LD 2129 adds new restrictions on medical debt collection in Maine, prohibiting liens on a consumer's principal residence and wage garnishment for medical debt. Courts are barred from making, executing, or enforcing wage garnishment orders for medical debt, and interest collection on related judgments is prohibited.
Healthcare providers and medical debt collectors operating in Maine should review their debt collection practices to ensure compliance with the new restrictions. The law significantly limits the tools available to collectors seeking to recover medical debt, extending protections beyond the prior ban on medical debt credit reporting under LD 558.
What to do next
- Monitor for the law's effective date
- Review medical debt collection policies and practices for Maine operations
- Consult legal counsel regarding compliance with new restrictions on liens and wage garnishment
Archived snapshot
Apr 14, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
April 13, 2026
Maine enacts law restricting medical debt collection
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On April 6, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed into law LD 2129, which prohibits medical debt collectors from placing liens on a consumer’s principal residence or garnishing their wages. The law also bars courts from making, executing, or enforcing wage garnishment orders based on medical debt and prohibits the collection of interest that has accumulated on or after the law’s effective date on judgments related to liens or attachments on a debtor’s principal residence. The legislation expands Maine’s medical debt protections beyond LD 558 (covered by InfoBytes here), which was enacted in June 2025, proscribing medical debt reporting to consumer reporting agencies. The law will take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the current legislature’s second regular session.
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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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