Latest Updates on the Model Medical Debt Protection Act

Nicole Dozier, North Carolina Justice Center. Nicole is the Director of the Health Advocacy Project at North Carolina Justice Center (Justice Center). She joined the Justice Center in 1996 in the role of Senior Litigation Paralegal-Hyatt Coordinator of the Hyatt project for Class Counsel after having worked for seven years as a disability specialist with the Social Security Administration’s state agency. Nicole’s work has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits for people in North Carolina living with disabilities. She has also worked with Justice Center litigators on consumer class actions and other impact litigation. In 2007, she became the Assistant Project Director of the Health Advocacy Project, spearheading the effort to keep organizations and individuals engaged around health care reform. Nicole retired as Apex Mayor Pro Tempore in December 2021, where she championed initiatives and projects around public engagement, equity, and inclusion.

Berneta L. Haynes is a senior attorney who focuses on consumer energy policy and medical debt. At NCLC, she recently authored Protecting Older Adults from Surprise Medical Bills. She is also a contributing author to the medical debt chapter of NCLC’s Collection Actions practice manual. Before joining NCLC, she served as a director at Georgia Watch, a state-based consumer advocacy organization in Atlanta, where she worked to make energy programs, quality healthcare, financial protection, and civil justice more equitable and accessible for all. At Georgia Watch, she led coalitions, facilitated forums, steered the passage of crucial medical billing legislation, and authored consumer-facing educational materials (such as the Georgia Consumer Guide for Medical Bills and Debt) and policy guides on energy equity, financial protection, and healthcare billing. Previously, she practiced law at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago and Southern Environmental Law Center. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English, Writing, and Psychology from Drury University, her Master’s degree in English from University of Iowa, and her law degree from University of Iowa College of Law. 

Marceline White, Economic Action Maryland. Marceline, an award-winning and nationally-recognized consumer advocate, is the Executive Director of Economic Action Maryland (formerly Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition). She leads the coalition’s 10,000 supporters in promoting economic rights, equity, and housing justice throughout Maryland. Marceline has led the coalition’s efforts in passing four first-in-the nation bills related to for-profit colleges, medical debt, and debtors prisons. She’s authored three first-in-the nation state-level reports on for-profit colleges, debt settlement, and debt collection practices and served as the co-chair of the Consumer Protection committee of AG Frosh’s COVID-19 Task Force. In 2020, Marceline received the inaugural Woodside Award from the CASH Campaign, given to an individual for their work on addressing systemic economic equity issues.