The Biden administration is moving to ban medical debt from credit reports. Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that the proposed rule, taken through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, would reduce the number of Americans with medical debt listed on their credit reports to zero, down from 46 million in 2020. In a press call Tuesday, Harris said the move would help improve the financial health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.
households live with medical debt, including people with health insurance; and that on average, a typical American household owes about $4,600 in medical debts. “The CFPB is seeking to end the senseless practice of weaponizing the credit reporting system to coerce patients into paying medical bills that they do not owe,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Medical bills on credit reports too often are inaccurate and have little to no predictive value when it comes to repaying other loans.