California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday that he is throwing his weight behind legislation to bar medical debt from showing up on consumer credit reports, a Democratic-led effort to offer protection to patients squeezed by health care bills.
Bonta is a sponsor of Sen. Monique Limón’s bill, which seeks to block health care providers, as well as any contracted collection agency, from sharing a patient’s medical debt with credit reporting agencies. It would also prevent credit reporting agencies from accepting, storing, or sharing any information concerning medical debt. Medical debt isn’t necessarily an accurate reflection of credit risk, and its inclusion in credit reports can depress credit scores and make it hard for people to get a job, rent an apartment, or secure a car loan.
“This is a broken part of our current system that needs to be fixed,” Bonta, a Democrat, told KFF Health News. “This is California’s opportunity, and we relish the ability to be up in front of key issues.”
If enacted, California would become the third state to remove medical bills from consumer credit reports, following Colorado and New York in 2023. Minnesota has a proposal to do the same. Last year, the Biden administration announced plans to develop similar federal rules through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but they have yet to be released. And should former President Donald Trump return to the White House, he would have the prerogative to undo the rules.
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Limón said it’s important for the state to enshrine its own protections into law alon …
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday that he is throwing his weight behind legislation to bar medical debt from showing up on consumer credit reports, a Democratic-led effort to offer protection to patients squeezed by health care bills.
Bonta is a sponsor of Sen. Monique Limón’s bill, which seeks to block health care providers, as well as any contracted collection agency, from sharing a patient’s medical debt with credit reporting agencies. It would also prevent credit reporting agencies from accepting, storing, or sharing any information concerning medical debt. Medical debt isn’t necessarily an accurate reflection of credit risk, and its inclusion in credit reports can depress credit scores and make it hard for people to get a job, rent an apartment, or secure a car loan.
“This is a broken part of our current system that needs to be fixed,” Bonta, a Democrat, told KFF Health News. “This is California’s opportunity, and we relish the ability to be up in front of key issues.”
If enacted, California would become the third state to remove medical bills from consumer credit reports, following Colorado and New York in 2023. Minnesota has a proposal to do the same. Last year, the Biden administration announced plans to develop similar federal rules through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but they have yet to be released. And should former President Donald Trump return to the White House, he would have the prerogative to undo the rules.
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Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.
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