Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 2519
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-07-29: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- Last Updated
- 2026-07-01T21:21:07Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose This legislation aims to prevent medical debt from appearing on consumer credit reports and from being used by creditors when deciding whether to extend credit.
Key Provisions
- Adds a definition of "medical debt" to the Fair Credit Reporting Act as any debt arising from medical services, products, or devices.
- Prohibits consumer reporting agencies from including any adverse information about medical debt on consumer reports.
- Requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to update regulations within one year to bar creditors from obtaining or using medical debt information when evaluating credit applications.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Removes the current provision in Section 605(a)(6) that allowed certain medical debt information on reports and replaces it with a full exclusion for all medical debt.
- Makes conforming changes to Section 604(g) by eliminating references to medical contact information and related exceptions.
- Introduces a new regulatory requirement directing the Bureau to strengthen prohibitions on the use of medical debt in lending decisions.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: Directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to revise its rules on medical debt use in credit decisions.
- Citizens: May improve access to credit for individuals with unpaid medical bills by removing such information from credit reports and lender evaluations.
- International relations: No direct effects identified in the legislation.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Consumers with medical debt.
- Consumer reporting agencies.
- Creditors and lenders.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Medical providers and debt collectors.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- The bill expands consumer protections under the Fair Credit Reporting Act without altering existing constitutional frameworks for credit reporting.
- It shifts regulatory authority by mandating specific changes to existing Bureau rules on medical information.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (5)
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT], Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA], Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT], Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA], Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Recent Actions
- 2025-07-29: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- 2025-07-29: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025 — issued 2025-07-29 — PDF (3 pages)