Congress votes to let lenders use medical debt against you
S.J.Res. 36 — A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to "Prohibition on Creditors and Consumer Reporting Agencies Concerning Medical Information (Regulation V)". · Filed by Mike Rounds (R-SD) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 11, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This resolution disapproves a CFPB rule that prohibited creditors and credit-reporting agencies from using medical debt information in lending and credit decisions. If passed, the rule would be nullified, allowing lenders and credit bureaus to resume considering medical debt when evaluating creditworthiness.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a Congressional Review Act disapproval that nullifies a CFPB consumer-protection rule. The rule itself was a prohibition on creditors' use of medical debt; disapproving it removes that prohibition and restores creditors' ability to factor medical debt into lending decisions.
What the text implies
- Medical debt will now be treated identically to other consumer debt in credit scoring, despite its involuntary nature and weak correlation with repayment ability. This may disproportionately harm patients with chronic illnesses, cancer survivors, and others facing high medical costs.
- Credit bureaus will likely begin collecting and selling medical debt information to lenders, creating a new revenue stream for the credit-reporting industry and expanding the scope of data monetization.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
credit card issuers; mortgage lenders; auto lenders