Protecting Veterans Credit Act of 2016

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to delay the inclusion in consumer credit reports and to establish requirements for debt collectors with respect to medical debt information of veterans due to inappropriate or delayed billing payments or reimbursements from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Veterans Credit Act of 2016 2. Purpose The purposes of this Act are— (1) to rectify reporting of medical debt included in a consumer report of a veteran due to inappropriate or delayed payment for hospital care or medical services provided in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs facility under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and (2) to clarify the process of debt collection for such medical debt. 3. Amendments to fair credit reporting act (a) Veteran’s medical debt defined Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681a (z) Veteran The term veteran (aa) Veteran's medical debt The term veteran’s medical debt . (b) Exclusion for veteran’s medical debt Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c (7) Any information related to a veteran’s medical debt if the date on which the debt was placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action antedates the report by less than 1 year. (8) Any information related to a fully paid or settled veteran’s medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection. . (c) Removal of veteran’s medical debt from consumer report Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681i (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by inserting and except as provided in subsection (g) subsection (f) (2) by adding at the end the following: (g) Dispute process for veteran’s medical debt (1) In general With respect to a veteran's medical debt of a consumer, the consumer may submit a notice along with proof of liability of the Department of Veterans Affairs for payment of that debt to a consumer reporting agency or a reseller to dispute the inclusion of that debt on a consumer report of the consumer. (2) Deletion of information from file Not later than 30 days after the date on which a notice is received under paragraph (1), the consumer reporting agency shall delete information relating to the veteran’s medical debt from the file of the consumer and notify the furnisher and the consumer of that deletion. . 4. Communications regarding veteran's medical debt (a) In general Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1692g (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting , except for a veteran’s medical debt as described in subsection (f), any debt (2) by adding at the end the following: (f) Veteran’s medical debt (1) Definitions In this subsection— (A) the term consumer reporting agency 15 U.S.C. 1681a (B) the term veteran (C) the term veteran’s medical debt (2) Communications regarding veteran’s medical debt Not later than 5 days after the initial communication with a veteran in connection with the collection of a veteran’s medical debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the veteran has paid the debt, send the veteran a written notice containing— (A) the amount of the debt; (B) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (C) a statement that unless the veteran, within 1 year after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector; (D) a statement that if the veteran notifies the debt collector in writing within the 1-year period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the veteran and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the veteran by the debt collector; (E) a statement that, upon the veteran’s written request within the 1-year period, the debt collector will provide the veteran with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor; (F) a statement that the debt collector will not report the debt to a consumer reporting agency until 1 year after the date on which the debt collector sends the statement; and (G) a statement that the consumer may communicate with— (i) an insurance company to determine coverage for the debt; (ii) the Department of Veterans Affairs to determine coverage for the debt or repayment options; or (iii) the provider of the hospital care or medical services from which the debt arises. (3) Collection of veteran’s medical debt If the veteran notifies the debt collector in writing within the 1-year period described in paragraph (2)(D) that the veteran’s medical debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the veteran requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the veteran's medical debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the veteran’s medical debt or a copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the veteran by the debt collector. Collection activities and communications that do not otherwise violate this title may continue during the 1-year period referred to in paragraph (2)(D) unless the veteran has notified the debt collector in writing that the veteran’s medical debt, or any portion of the debt, is disputed or that the veteran requests the name and address of the original creditor. Any collection activities and communication during the 1-year period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the veteran’s right to dispute the veteran’s medical debt or request the name and address of the original creditor. . 5. Effective date The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Summary: Protecting Veterans Credit Act of 2016 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to exclude from a consumer report: (1) for one year, information related to a veteran's medical debt resulting from hospital or medical services provided in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility; and (2) information related to a fully paid or settled medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection. A veteran may submit a notice along with proof of VA liability for such debt to a consumer reporting agency or a reseller to dispute the debt's inclusion in a consumer report. The consumer reporting agency shall, within 30 days, delete such information from the consumer's file and notify the furnisher and the veteran. The Consumer Credit Protection Act is amended to provide a mechanism for veterans to dispute the inclusion of program debt already on a credit report. A consumer reporting agency shall, within 30 days after receiving notice of such dispute, delete such information from the veteran's file and notify the furnisher and the veteran. Within five days after the initial communication with a veteran, a debt collector shall, unless the appropriate information is contained in the initial communication or the veteran has paid the debt, send the veteran a written notice containing specified debt-related information, including information concerning the debt amount, creditors, the insurance company involved, and the hospital or medical care provider. If a veteran notifies the debt collector within such one-year period that the program debt is disputed or that the veteran requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection until debt verification or the name and address of the original creditor is obtained.