Demand Progress

The overpaid CEOs at credit reporting companies Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian have refused to remove medical bills from consumer credit reports.¹ So, the position of these rich CEOs is: if people in America get sick, and go into medical debt, it’s OK for them to also have a harder time accessing housing, employment, and much more as a result. That’s what happens with bad credit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just introduced a draft rule to remove medical bills from credit reports because having medical debt does NOT make someone more of a “credit risk.”² The next step is finalizing and enforcing this new policy so that when people get sick, they can focus on getting better, rather than fighting debt collectors.

Sign the petition: Get medical debt off credit reports!

In the richest country in the world, no one should have to go into medical debt. Since our healthcare system in America is such a mess, medical debt is a real problem for millions of people. ER visits, cancer treatments, critical surgeries, and everything in between — it can all lead to medical debt. But medical debt shouldn’t also be a credit problem.

It’s a great step forward to see the CFPB drafting policy to help consumers within a predatory credit system that punishes people from all cross-sections of America — the insured and uninsured, poor people and middle class, and so many others — for not being able to afford the exorbitant and unexpected costs of healthcare. Now, the agency must finalize the rule and protect people from having medical debt used against them on credit reports.

Add your name: No medical debt on credit reports! Support the new CFPB rule.

Sources:

1. Nevada Current, “Credit bureau CEOs face tough questions at Senate hearing; Democrats push to remove medical debt,” April 28, 2023.
2. CFPB, “CFPB Kicks Off Rulemaking to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports,” September 21, 2023.