Copyright The New York Times
A court ruling this summer canceled a Biden-era federal effort to remove medical debt from credit reports. Now, the Trump administration is seeking to thwart similar state efforts, potentially eroding protections for Americans who struggle to pay health care bills. Fifteen states have passed laws in recent years restricting the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports in some way. The reports, and the three-digit credit scores that summarize them, act as financial gatekeepers that determine if people can qualify for loans and what interest rate they’ll pay. A blemished credit history can also make it hard to rent an apartment or get a job. About 14 million people, or 6 percent of adults, owed more than $1,000 in medical debt in 2021, according to an analysis by KFF, a health research group. On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published guidance saying Biden-era guidance was “wrong” in concluding that states can regulate the use of information like medical debt in credit reports. Federal credit reporting law, the new guidance said, overrides state laws that “touch on broad areas of credit reporting.” The notice in the Federal Register was signed by Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, who is also serving as the bureau’s acting head. The Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents credit bureaus, applauded the consumer bureau’s action, saying there should be “one national standard” to govern how information is provided to the credit bureaus. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
