In early January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a policy to eliminate medical debt from credit reports. This decision is particularly important for individuals burdened by unexpected health-care costs and represents a pivotal shift in how Americans manage and finance their medical expenses.
But the Trump administration aims to diminish the CFPB. While the bureau’s shortcomings are certainly up for debate, the policy to remove health-care bills from credit reporting must be kept in place to protect patients from predatory billing practices. In a truly fair system, a hospital bill would reflect the actual cost of care, with a reasonable margin, not an arbitrary, inflated price designed to exploit people at their most vulnerable moments.
