CFPB Announces Rulemaking to Prohibit Medical Debt Information on Credit Reports.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced a rulemaking process to prohibit consumer reporting companies from including medical debts and medical debt collection information on consumer reports. This rule would also prohibit creditors from using medical collections information when evaluating consumer credit applications. The CFPB plans to narrow the exemption that allows creditors to rely on medical information as "financial information." The importance of this initiative was highlighted by Vice President Kamala Harris participating in a joint press call with CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. Director Chopra emphasized the limited predictive value of medical debt information and the prevalence of medical debt collection issues. [Extracted from the article]