The Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025 would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to bar consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt on a consumer report. It defines “medical debt” broadly to cover debts arising from medical services, products, or devices, and it would treat adverse information tied to such debt, including accounts sent to collections or charged off, as excluded from credit reports.
The bill also directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to revise its regulations within one year so that creditors are prohibited from obtaining or using medical-debt information when deciding whether to extend credit. In effect, the measure would remove medical debt from the credit-reporting and credit-underwriting process at the federal level, changing how lenders, credit bureaus, and consumers interact with medical billing-related obligations.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would amend sections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and require conforming changes to related provisions governing consumer report content and permissible uses of medical information. It would prevent medical debt from appearing as adverse information on credit reports and would restrict creditors from using medical-debt data in credit decisions, likely affecting credit bureaus, lenders, debt collectors, and consumers with unpaid medical bills.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to have been introduced as a consumer-protection measure with a clear pro-consumer policy goal. The sponsors’ framing suggests support for reducing the credit harms associated with medical bills, and there is no evidence in the provided record of formal opposition or amendment activity yet.
Contention
The main policy contention is likely to be whether medical debt should be excluded entirely from credit reporting and underwriting, versus retained as a factor reflecting repayment risk. Supporters would view the bill as protecting consumers from being penalized for health-related expenses that may be unexpected or unavoidable, while critics may argue it limits lenders’ access to information relevant to credit risk and could affect underwriting accuracy. No specific objections or competing viewpoints are documented in the provided committee materials.