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WEDNESDAY, June 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- In an effort to keep medical debt from destroying credit scores, the Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is moving ahead with a proposal that would remove health care bills from consideration in credit checks. Along with making it easier for folks to rent an apartment, get a mortgage or buy a car, the proposed rule would prevent lenders from repossessing medical devices like wheelchairs if people cannot repay a loan, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in a announcing the proposal. "Today, more than 100 million Americans struggle with medical debt," Vice President Kamala Harris said during a Tuesday on the proposed rule.

"Usually, medical debt is the result of a medical emergency -- an unplanned, unexpected expense often of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars." "And one of the most significant consequences of carrying medical debt is the harm it does to a person’s credit score," Harris added. "And that is simply not fair, especially when we know that people with medical debt are no less likely to repay a loan than those without medical debt.



No one should be denied access to economic opportunity simply because they experienced a medical emergency." CFPB Director also noted that research shows medical billing errors frequently appear on credit reports and the rule would prevent debt collectors from forcing people to pay medical bills they may not owe. Although the three national credit reporting ag.

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