A BILL 
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide 
a timetable for verification of medical debt and to in-
crease the efficiency of credit markets with more perfect 
information, to prohibit consumer reporting agencies 
from issuing consumer reports containing information 
about debts related to medically necessary procedure, 
about and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Protection 
for Medical Debt Collections Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION 
PRACTICES ACT. 
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collec-
tion Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) The term ‘medical debt’ means a debt 
arising from the receipt of medical services, 
products, or devices.’’. 
(b) UNFAIR PRACTICES.—Section 808 of the Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) Engaging in activities to collect or at-
tempting to collect a medical debt owed or due 
or asserted to be owed or due by a consumer, be-
fore the end of the 2-year period beginning on 
the date that the first payment with respect to 
such medical debt is due.’’. 
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SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN-
CIES REPORTING CERTAIN MEDICAL DEBT. 
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(bb) MEDICAL DEBT.—The term ‘medical debt’ means 
a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, products, 
or devices. 
‘‘(cc) MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURE.—The term 
‘medically necessary procedure’ means— 
‘‘(1) health care services or supplies needed to di-
agnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease, 
or its symptoms and that meet accepted standards of 
medicine; and 
‘‘(2) health care to prevent illness or detect ill-
ness at an early stage, when treatment is likely to 
work best (including preventive services such as pap 
tests, flu shots, and screening mammograms).’’. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—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 paragraphs: 
‘‘(9) Any information related to a debt arising 
from a medically necessary procedure. 
‘‘(10) Any information related to a medical debt, 
if the date on which such debt was placed for collec-
tion, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any 
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similar action antedates the report by less than 365 
calendar days.’’. 
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FURNISHERS OF MEDICAL 
DEBT INFORMATION. 
(a) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED-
ICAL DEBT.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681s-2) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED-
ICAL DEBT.—Before furnishing information regarding a 
medical debt of a consumer to a consumer reporting agency, 
the person furnishing the information shall send a state-
ment to the consumer that includes the following: 
‘‘(1) A notification that the medical debt— 
‘‘(A) may not be included on a consumer re-
port made by a consumer reporting agency until 
the later of the date that is 365 days after— 
‘‘(i) the date on which the person sends 
the statement; 
‘‘(ii) with respect to the medical debt of 
a borrower demonstrating hardship, a date 
determined by the Director of the Bureau; 
or 
‘‘(iii) the date described under section 
605(a)(10); and 
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‘‘(B) may not ever be included on a con-
sumer report made by a consumer reporting 
agency, if the medical debt arises from a medi-
cally necessary procedure. 
‘‘(2) A notification that, if the debt is settled or 
paid by the consumer or an insurance company be-
fore the end of the period described under paragraph 
(1)(A), the debt may not be reported to a consumer 
reporting agency. 
‘‘(3) A notification that the consumer may— 
‘‘(A) communicate with an insurance com-
pany to determine coverage for the debt; or 
‘‘(B) apply for financial assistance.’’. 
(b) FURNISHING OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION.— 
Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681s-2), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) FURNISHING OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION
ON
REPORTING
DEBT
RE-
LATED TO MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURES.—No 
person shall furnish any information to a consumer 
reporting agency regarding a debt arising from a 
medically necessary procedure. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF OTHER MEDICAL DEBT IN-
FORMATION.—With respect to a medical debt not de-
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scribed under paragraph (1), no person shall furnish 
any information to a consumer reporting agency re-
garding such debt before the end of the 365-day period 
beginning on the later of— 
‘‘(A) the date on which the person sends the 
statement described under subsection (f) to the 
consumer; 
‘‘(B) with respect to the medical debt of a 
borrower demonstrating hardship, a date deter-
mined by the Director of the Bureau; or 
‘‘(C) 
the 
date 
described 
in 
section 
605(a)(10). 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF SETTLED OR PAID MEDICAL 
DEBT.—With respect to a medical debt not described 
under paragraph (1), no person shall furnish any in-
formation to a consumer reporting agency regarding 
such debt if the debt is settled or paid by the con-
sumer or an insurance company before the end of the 
365-day period described under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(4) BORROWER DEMONSTRATING HARDSHIP DE-
FINED.—In this subsection, and with respect to a 
medical debt, the term ‘borrower demonstrating hard-
ship’ means a borrower or a class of borrowers who, 
as determined by the Director of the Bureau, is facing 
or has experienced unusual extenuating life cir-
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cumstances or events that result in severe financial or 
personal barriers such that the borrower or class of 
borrowers does not have the capacity to repay the 
medical debt.’’. 
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend the 
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide a timetable 
for the collection of medical debt by debt collectors, to 
amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit con-
sumer reporting agencies from issuing consumer reports 
containing information about debts related to medically 
necessary procedures, and for other purposes.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 537 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5330 
[Report No. 116–653] 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to 
provide a timetable for verification of medical 
debt and to increase the efficiency of credit mar-
kets with more perfect information, to prohibit 
consumer reporting agencies from issuing con-
sumer reports containing information about debts 
related to medically necessary procedure, about 
and for other purposes. 
DECEMBER 15, 2020 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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