SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medical Debt Relief 
Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Medical debt is unique, and Americans do 
not choose when accidents happen or when illness 
strikes. 
(2) Medical debt collection issues affect both in-
sured and uninsured consumers. 
(3) According to credit evaluators, medical debt 
collections are more likely to be in dispute, inconsist-
ently reported, and of questionable value in pre-
dicting future payment performance because it is 
atypical and nonpredictive. 
(4) Nevertheless, medical debt that has been 
completely paid off or settled can significantly dam-
age a consumer’s credit score for years. 
(5) As a result, consumers can be denied credit 
or pay higher interest rates when buying a home or 
obtaining a credit card. 
(6) Healthcare providers are increasingly turn-
ing to outside collection agencies to help secure pay-
ment from patients and this comes at the expense of 
the consumer because medical debts are not typically 
reported unless they become assigned to collections.
(7) In fact, medical bills account for more than 
half of all non-credit related collection actions re-
ported to consumer credit reporting agencies. 
(8) The issue of medical debt affects millions. 
(9) According to the Commonwealth Fund, 
medical bill problems or accrued medical debt affects 
roughly 72,000,000 working-age adults in America. 
(10) For 2007, 28,000,000 working-age Amer-
ican adults were contacted by a collection agency for 
unpaid medical bills. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ex-
clude from consumer credit reports medical debt that had 
been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or debt in 
collection for credit reporting purposes and has been fully 
paid or settled. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT. 
(a) MEDICAL DEBT DEFINED.—Section 603 of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(z) MEDICAL DEBT.—The term ‘medical debt’ 
means a debt described in section 604(g)(1)(C).’’. 
(b) EXCLUSION FOR PAID OR SETTLED MEDICAL 
DEBT.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) Any information related to a fully paid or 
settled medical debt that had been characterized as 
delinquent, charged off, or in collection which, from 
the date of payment or settlement, antedates the re-
port by more than 45 days.’’. 
SEC. 4. PAYGO BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’ ’’ for 
this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, 
provided that such statement has been submitted prior to 
the vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 29, 
2010. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3421 
AN ACT 
To exclude from consumer credit reports medical 
debt that has been in collection and has been 
fully paid or settled, and for other purposes.