
Removing Medical Bills From Credit Reports – A RBP Game Changer…………
Market Impact: Reference based pricing and cash models become ubiquitous (plus direct contracting) and unless it is Mother Theresa calling every five minutes, I am not answering the phone…
By Doug AldeenDoug – ERISA Healthcare Attorney and General Counsel
What does the inability to pay a hyperinflated billed charge for a medical service that is medically necessary have to do with overall creditworthiness? Zero.
“…The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it is beginning a rulemaking process to remove medical bills from Americans’ credit reports. Research shows that medical bills have little predictive value in credit decisions, yet tens of millions of American households are dealing with medical debt on their credit reports,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “When someone gets sick, they should be able to focus on getting better, rather than fighting debt collectors trying to extort them into paying bills they may not even owe.”
The document released today is an outline of proposals and alternatives under consideration for the CFPB’s medical debt rulemaking. If finalized, they would:
1) Remove medical bills from consumers’ credit reports: Consumer reporting companies would be prohibited from including medical debts and collection information on consumer reports that creditors use in making underwriting decisions.
2) Stop creditors from relying on medical bills for underwriting decisions: The proposal would narrow the 2005 exception and prohibit creditors from using medical collections information when evaluating borrowers’ credit applications.
3) Stop coercive collection practices: As unpaid medical bills would no longer appear on consumers’ credit reports used by creditors in making underwriting decisions, debt collectors would no longer be able to use the credit reporting system as leverage to pressure consumers into paying questionable debts.
4) Market Impact: Reference based pricing and cash models become ubiquitous (plus direct contracting) and unless it is Mother Theresa calling every five minutes, I am not answering the phone…
CFPB Kicks Off Rulemaking to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports CFPB Kicks Off Rulemaking to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)
Proposals under consideration would help end coercive debt collection tactics, clean up inaccurate data, and improve credit score predictiveness