As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
- 1. "Medical debt" means an obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay any amount whatsoever related to the receipt of health care services, products, or devices provided to a person by a hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of this chapter, a health care professional authorized under title eight of the education law or an ambulance service certified under article thirty of this chapter. Medical debt does not include debt charged to a credit card unless the credit card is issued under an open-ended or closed-ended plan offered specifically for the payment of health care services, products, or devices provided to a person.
- 2. "Collection entity" means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co-operative, association, government or government subdivision, agency or other entity that either purchases medical debt or collects medical debt on behalf of another entity.
- 3. "Consumer reporting agency" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined in section three hundred eighty-a of the general business law.