“The CFPB’s medical debt rule was designed to protect consumers from predatory debt collectors, to protect consumer privacy and protect consumers from the weaponization of medical debt,” Rob Weissman, co-president of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, told the Guardian.
Medical debt reforms threatened by Trump pause on new regulations Treasury secretary paused all work at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, agency that was enacting reform.
Purcell also asked Bessent to stop the implementation of a second rule, slated for October, that would have required debt collectors to independently review each medical debt sent to them for collection and ensure they were not “upcoded”.
The Biden administration hoped to eliminate medical debt on credit reports by barring creditors from reporting delinquent debt to credit agencies.
“In the past two years, the CFPB has undertaken a misguided public relations campaign to target ACA members’ compliant and beneficial work collecting debt for medical providers,” ACA International’s CEO, Scott Purcell, said in a letter.
