Minnesotans getting debt-collection letters from hospitals should be aware of a new state law that took effect January 1st. The I-R-S already required non-profit hospitals to inform patients if any financial assistance is available before beginning any “extraordinary” efforts to collect a debt — which could include suing the patient. The new state law goes further, saying a patient can sue a hospital, if it used extraordinary collection efforts but didn’t provide a plain-language summary of its financial assistance policy.