S. 2519: Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025

This bill, known as the Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025, seeks to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) concerning how medical debt is treated in consumer credit reporting. Below are the key provisions of the bill:

Definition of Medical Debt

The bill introduces a clear definition of "medical debt." It specifies that medical debt refers to any debt resulting in whole or part from medical services, products, or devices.

Exclusion of Medical Debt from Credit Reports

One of the primary changes proposed by this bill is to prohibit the inclusion of any information related to medical debt in consumer credit reports. Specifically:

• It removes existing provisions that allow adverse information related to medical debt to appear on credit reports.
• Any medical debt that has been sent for collection, charged to profit or loss, or affected by similar actions would be excluded from credit reporting.

Modification of Regulations

The bill mandates the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) to update its regulations within one year of the bill's enactment. This update would enforce prohibitions on creditors regarding the use of medical debt information when making decisions about extending credit to consumers. This means that lenders would not be able to consider a consumer's medical debt when assessing their creditworthiness.

Impact on Consumers

The intended outcome of this legislation is to alleviate the impact of medical debt on consumers' credit scores, which in turn could improve their access to credit and reduce financial barriers caused by medical expenses.

Implementation Timeline

Once the bill is enacted, the CFPB will have one year to implement the necessary amendments to ensure adherence to these new regulations regarding medical debt.

Relevant Companies

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