Sponsors (18)
Excluding medical debt from consumer credit reports improves credit access and privacy for patients but shifts information and collection burdens onto lenders and providers, risking higher borrowing costs, cost‑shifting in healthcare, and added compliance/regulatory costs.
People with medical debt (especially low-income, uninsured, and chronically ill individuals) will no longer have adverse medical-debt entries on their credit reports, improving credit scores and reducing denials or worse loan terms so they can access credit more easily.
Patients with medical debt (including low-income and chronically ill consumers) will gain greater privacy over sensitive health‑related financial data and face reduced risk that billing or contact information is shared through consumer‑reporting channels.
Patients with past medical debt (including those with chronic conditions) will face fewer barriers to renting housing or obtaining employment when credit checks are used, because medical adverse entries are excluded.
Middle‑class borrowers and taxpayers may face tighter credit availability or higher borrowing costs because lenders lose access to medical‑debt information and may raise prices or restrict credit to offset added risk.
Hospitals and health systems — and potentially patients — may see increased uncompensated care if furnishers and collection agencies lose leverage to collect medical debt, which could lead to cost‑shifting (higher prices) or reduced services.
Consumer‑reporting agencies and financial institutions will incur compliance and system‑change costs, and removing medical exceptions may create regulatory ambiguity that raises administrative burdens and transition costs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Removes adverse medical-debt information from credit reports and bars creditors from using medical-debt data in credit decisions; CFPB must issue implementing rules within one year.
Introduced July 29, 2025 by Nikema Williams · Last progress July 29, 2025
Removes medical debt from consumer credit reports and stops creditors from using medical debt information when deciding whether to extend credit. It adds a legal definition of "medical debt" to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, requires consumer reporting agencies to exclude any adverse information tied to medical debt, and directs the CFPB to issue a rule within one year banning creditors from obtaining or using medical debt data in credit decisions.