An Arm and a Leg: Medical-Debt Watchdog Gets Sidelined by the New Administration
By Dan Weissmann
March 12, 2025
Podcast
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is offline — for now. Here’s what that could mean for people with medical debt.
Biden Administration Bars Medical Debt From Credit Scores
By Noam N. Levey
January 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The move, which comes less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, represents a challenge to the new administration.
With Medical Debt Burdening Millions, a Financial Regulator Steps In to Help
By Noam N. Levey
March 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created after the Great Recession of 2007-09, has increasingly started policing the health care system.
With Trump on the Way, Advocates Look to States To Pick Up Medical Debt Fight
By Noam N. Levey
December 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Patient and consumer advocates fear a new Trump administration will scale back federal efforts to expand financial protections for patients and shield them from debt.
Harris apoya la reducción de la deuda médica. Los “conceptos” de Trump preocupan a defensores.
By Noam N. Levey
October 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
La administración Biden ha ampliado las protecciones financieras para los pacientes, incluyendo una propuesta histórica de la Oficina de Protección Financiera del Consumidor (CFPB) para eliminar la deuda médica de los informes de crédito de los consumidores.
Harris Backs Slashing Medical Debt. Trump’s ‘Concepts’ Worry Advocates.
By Noam N. Levey
October 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration has taken significant steps to address a problem that burdens 100 million people in America, but gains would be jeopardized by a Trump win, advocates say.
Biden Administration Advances Plan To Remove Medical Debt From Credit Scores
By Noam N. Levey
June 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed federal regulations that would prevent unpaid medical bills from being counted on consumers’ credit reports.
Tu deuda médica ya no afectaría tu historial de crédito
By Noam N. Levey
June 14, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Si se promulgan, nuevas reglas ampliarían drásticamente las protecciones para decenas de millones de estadounidenses agobiados por facturas médicas que no pueden pagar.
Biden Administration to Ban Medical Debt From Americans’ Credit Scores
By Noam N. Levey
September 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The White House said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will develop new regulations that would prevent unpaid medical bills from being counted on credit reports.
Even Political Rivals Agree That Medical Debt Is an Urgent Issue
By Noam N. Levey
October 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In red and blue states, state lawmakers from both parties are expanding protections for patients burdened by medical debt.
Biden Administration Issues New Warning About Medical Credit Cards
By Noam N. Levey
May 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Americans paid an estimated $1 billion in deferred interest on medical debt in just three years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reports. The agency warns against medical credit cards, which are often pitched right in doctors’ offices.
El gobierno alerta sobre tarjetas de crédito para pagar facturas médicas
By Noam N. Levey
May 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
La Oficina de Protección Financiera del Consumidor estimó en su informe que, en solo tres años, de 2018 a 2020, las personas han estado pagando $1,000 millones en intereses diferidos de tarjetas de crédito médicas y otros financiamientos médicos.
Incluso los rivales políticos coinciden en que es urgente resolver el problema de la deuda médica
By Noam N. Levey
October 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Desde 2021, en más de 20 estados se han promulgado nuevas leyes para frenar la facturación abusiva de los hospitales, ampliar la atención caritativa a los pacientes con ingresos más bajos y frenar a los recaudadores de deudas.
Medical Debt Is Disappearing From Americans’ Credit Reports, Lifting Scores
By Noam N. Levey
November 2, 2023
KFF Health News Original
As credit rating agencies have removed small unpaid medical bills from consumer credit, scores have gone up, a new study finds.
Biden Administration Urged to Take More Aggressive Steps to Relieve Medical Debt
By Noam N. Levey
March 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Consumer and patient advocates push for new federal rules to protect Americans from debt collectors and force hospitals to make financial assistance more accessible.
An Arm and a Leg: Credit Card, Please
By Dan Weissmann
July 3, 2023
Podcast
What do you do when a medical provider asks you to provide a credit card upfront? In this episode, we hear advice about your options in this situation.
An Air Force Career Held up Because of Debt Owed for Medical Bills
By Aneri Pattani
December 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Emergency room care left Samaria Bradford with $5,000 in medical bills. Now she has to track down and pay that debt before she can hope to enlist in the military.
Some Private Companies Charge Hefty Fees to Help Veterans With Disability Claims
By Michelle Andrews
April 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Unaccredited companies promise to help veterans file for disability benefits. But unlike the thousands of service representatives who have been vetted and approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide aid, these “medical consultants” or “coaches” operate with no restrictions on how much they can charge.
Changes At CFPB May Upend Efforts To Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports
April 29, 2025
Morning Briefing
For now, an effort to lay off nearly all Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees is on hold. But if the agency is shuttered, a Biden-era rule that would prevent credit agencies from including medical debt on credit reports would likely be overturned or wither away, The Washington Post says.
CFPB Releases Proposed Rule To Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports
June 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration regulation, if implemented, would reduce tens of millions people in the U.S. with medical debt listed on their reports down to zero — and could raise their credit scores by an average of 20 points.
