Title: Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act
This bill prohibits credit reporting agencies from including certain medical debt on a consumer report. Specifically, agencies may not include on a report medical debt that has not been placed for collection, medical debt that was placed for collection within a year prior to the report, or medical debt fully paid or settled within a certain period of time.
Before a person provides information regarding a consumer's medical debt to a credit reporting agency, that person must notify the consumer of the restrictions regarding the reporting of medical debt and provide the consumer with details regarding the medical debt.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8536 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8536

   To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to delay the reporting of 
  medical debt by consumer reporting agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2020

Mr. Gallagher introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to delay the reporting of 
  medical debt by consumer reporting agencies, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORTING OF MEDICAL DEBT TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 603, 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.'';
            (2) in section 605(a), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(9) Any information relating to a medical debt if--
            ``(A) the debt has not been placed for collection, charged 
        to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action;
            ``(B) 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 one year; or
            ``(C) the debt was fully paid or settled before the end of 
        the one-year period beginning on the date described in 
        subparagraph (A).''; and
            (3) in section 623, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Additional Notice Requirements for Medical Debt.--Before a 
person furnishes information relating to a medical debt of a consumer 
to a consumer reporting agency, such person shall--
            ``(1) notify the consumer that no consumer reporting agency 
        may make a consumer report containing any information relating 
        to a medical debt if--
                    ``(A) the debt has not been placed for collection, 
                charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar 
                action; or
                    ``(B) 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 
                one year; and
            ``(2) ensure that the consumer has been provided with a 
        detailed accounting of such medical debt.''.
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