GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO)-- We can eat right, exercise and protect our health, but sometimes it's out of our hands, and we get sick.

But what if hospital bills caused you to go bankrupt? For many people here in Colorado, that's a reality.

So lawmakers are trying to take some of that stress off of the state's medically uninsured.

According to one study, 62 percent of personal bankruptcies are caused by medical debt.

Today, legislators at the state capitol heard a proposal that would put limits on hospital bills for the uninsured.

“I've had really bad problems with my stomach and stuff over the years, and they've been trying to figure it out, I went under numerous tests, and they can't figure out what the problem is,” Crystal Batchelor said.
All those tests aren't cheap, and are racking up thousands of dollars in medical bills for Batchelor.
"(We owed) $5,000 and we paid off that, and now we owe another $3,000, because you can't just sit at home and die," she said.

Luckily for Batchelor, she has insurance, but 870,000 people in Colorado don't have that option.

"Many times these people forego emergency care, because they have a home or they have income, and they're afraid of running up bills that will lead to bankruptcy," Senator Irene Aguilar, (D) Colorado, said.

Aguilar is looking to put the breaks on medical- related bankruptcies. So today, her constituents were introduced to senate bill 134, the Hospital Payment Assistance Act.

The bill has three major parts.
- Hospital bills would have to be limited to the actual cost of care for uninsured patients.
- Providers must clearly state discounts and charity care available...
- Before someone is sent to collections, they make sure the patient isn't eligible for Medicare or Medicaid, working with them to make a payment plan.

"Ideally, a payment plan that doesn't require them to pay more than 10 percent of their income per year towards their medical bills, so they can avoid medical bankruptcy," Aguilar said.

Even though Batchelor is insured, she's hoping she can bring her monthly payment plans low enough to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

"It's not something you want to do, but when you're sitting there and they're saying 'well we're going to garnish your wages' or whatever, what are you supposed to do? How do you pay the rest of your bills, like heating, gas, food?" she said.

The bill is making it's way through the legislature.

Aguilar says she wants to make sure hospitals are comfortable with the bill's language first, and hopes to meet with hospitals on Tuesday.

Aguilar aims to have bill 134 back on the agenda and up for a vote next Thursday.

She says whether or not it passes, people should always feel comfortable asking hospitals what discounts are available, if they have insurance or not.

Aguilar also says even if you fear high medical bills, you should never not go to a hospital if you are in need.