ATLANTA, GA, August 12, 2024—Georgia Watch, alongside 18 organizations and advocates across Georgia, submitted comments today on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed medical debt rule prohibiting medical bills from being reported on most credit reports. This crucial step will provide much-needed relief to millions of people currently burdened by medical debt, which the CFPB finds disproportionately affects Black and Latino communities. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, over 100,000 Georgians have more than $120 million in medical debt.
“Through its consumer helpline, Georgia Watch frequently hears from individuals struggling to navigate the complexities of the healthcare system, particularly concerning billing and debt issues,” said Liz Coyle, Executive Director of Georgia Watch. “The CFPB’s proposed rule is vital to protect consumers from the long-lasting financial harm caused by medical debt on credit reports.”
The CFPB’s proposed rule would ban the reporting of medical debts on credit reports used for credit underwriting, offering substantial protection to millions of consumers. According to the comments submitted by Georgia Watch on behalf of itself and 18 others, medical debt can cause an unfair burden on individuals seeking home ownership or access to the financial mainstream. Patients often mention credit reporting damage or fear of it as a major financial consequence of their illness and a deterrent to seeking care in the first place.
To strengthen the proposed rule, the comment letter urges the CFPB to go further to
protect consumers from harmful credit reporting and other practices by:
● Extending the credit reporting ban to negative information about lending products
used to pay for medical debts, especially medical credit cards;
● Addressing other common abuses with medical lending products, such as
prohibiting deferred interest on credit cards, prohibiting issuance of medical credit
cards or loans to consumers whose insurance covers a procedure or they qualify for
financial assistance, and prohibiting services from being charged to a credit card
before they are rendered; and
● Extending the medical debt ban to credit reports used for employment and tenant
screening.
The commenters commend the CFPB for its ongoing efforts to enhance transparency and fairness in the healthcare marketplace and urge the Bureau to adopt additional measures to protect consumers from the harms of medical debt and associated lending products.
# # #
About Georgia Watch
Founded in 2002, Georgia Watch is a statewide, non-profit consumer advocacy organization working to inform and protect Georgia consumers on matters that significantly impact their quality of life, including the effects of predatory business practices, the high cost of utilities and healthcare, and restricted access to the civil justice system. For more information, visit www.georgiawatch.org.
Comments were submitted on behalf of:
Alliance 85, Inc.
Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement
Capital Good Fund
Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc.
Georgia Equality
Georgia Watch
GreenLight Fund Atlanta
Healthy and Free Tennessee
Neighborhood Improvement Association
On the Rise Community Development Inc.
Partnership for Southern Equity
People-to-People Enterprises
Refugee Women’s Network
SOWEGA Rising
Dr. Bambie Hayes Brown
Cookie Noel – Social Worker
Tzedek DC
Portia Jones
Kendra Jeffreys, Friends of Refugees