Jessica Klander Quoted in Kare 11 for Testimony Before Minnesota House

On Monday, April 15, 2024, the Minnesota House passed the Commerce Policy Bill. The legislation includes several medical debt reforms. Bassford Remele Shareholder and Consumer Finance Co-Chair Jessica Klander is quoted in KARE 11’s article “Lawmakers tackle medical debt predicament:”

• Jessica Klander, speaking for the Great Lakes Credit and Collections Association, said her group was especially concerned about the part of the bill that protects $4,000 of a patient's bank account from being garnished by debt collectors.

• "This will effectively prohibit the use of bank garnishments as a collection tool in Minnesota. Very few people maintain a $4,000 account balance at any given time. And those that do can simply move the money around between their accounts to simply avoid the obligation," Klander said.

• "Often a bank garnishment summons is the first time a consumer engages and responds to the collection actions that have been going [o]n for years. This allows an opportunity to work with the consumer toward a payment plan and negate the need for the garnishment at all."

There are two separate versions (bills) of the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act moving through the House versus the Senate. In March, Jessica testified before the House on behalf of the Great Lakes Credit and Collection Association on the radical changes to the collections process and its unintended consequences:

• Changing the statute of limitations from six to three years would provide less time for creditors and third-party debt collection agencies to work with consumers on their debt before pursuing legal judgments, Klander explained.

The Commerce Policy Bill now moves on to the Minnesota Senate.

For more information on this topic, please contact Jessica Klander.

Jessica Klander is a shareholder at Bassford Remele and the co-chair of the Consumer Finance Practice Group. Her practice focuses on defending lawyers, financial entities, healthcare providers, and other organizations against consumer financial protection claims, malpractice, and professional liability claims. In particular, she counsels organizations on privacy, data security, and governmental and regulatory affairs. She assists with advising and representing health care organizations, collection agencies, and law firms against state and federal regulatory inquiries, civil investigative demands, and consumer lawsuits. Jessica also consults with law firms, collection agencies, creditors, and health care organizations on the myriad of state and federal laws and regulations that apply to an organization’s compliance management system. Jessica serves as Treasurer of the Hennepin County Bar Association and on the insideArm Legal Advisory Board. She regularly presents at national conferences on federal consumer regulations, including at ACA International, Inc. Jessica also serves as Bassford Remele’s Chief Operating Officer and as co-chair of its Recruiting Committee.

Bassford Remele proudly serves as local and national counsel for many major corporations and Fortune 500 Companies and is a go-to litigation firm representing local, national, and international clients in state and federal courts across the region. When businesses seek solutions to their legal challenges—from the conference room to the courtroom—they seek Bassford Remele.

Bassford Remele | April 19, 2024