These are NCLC’s detailed comments supporting the CFPB’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to ban medical debt from credit reports. The comments discuss the research and evidence to support the proposed rule, including the fact that medical debt disproportionately affects communities of color as well as consumers with disabilities. The comments also analyze why the CFPB has strong legal authority to ban medical debt from credit reports.
The NCLC comments also urge the CFPB to:
- extend the credit reporting ban to negative information about lending products used to pay for medical debts, especially medical credit cards;
- extend the medical debt ban to credit reports used for employment and tenant screening; and
- address other common abuses with medical lending products.
The NCLC comments include results of survey showing that medical debt presents a barrier to tenants seeking rental housing.