The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has intensified its efforts to combat abusive medical debt collection practices, looking for to guard greater than 100 million Americans burdened by $220 billion in medical debt. Vice President Kamala Harris said she’s supporting the motion, which targets pervasive problems like inflated prices, double billing, and attempts to gather on fictitious or unverified debts.

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra highlighted the rampant problems in medical billing and collection, including the illegal pursuit of undocumented debts and breaches of collection limits. The agency’s recent guidance seeks to curb such practices and be sure that debt collectors follow the law when pursuing outstanding medical bills.

States are also stepping up their efforts to shield consumers from the detrimental effects of medical debt. Minnesota recently introduced recent debt collection regulations, prohibiting healthcare providers from denying essential services as a result of unpaid bills. Starting next yr, a law in California signed by Governor Gavin Newsom will shield consumers’ credit reports from the vast majority of medical debt. Similar laws has been enacted in Recent York and Connecticut, marking a growing trend of state-led protections.

Along with state actions, the Biden-Harris administration has prioritized reducing the burden of medical debt nationwide. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has underscored how medical debt can block access to critical economic opportunities, from homeownership to business ventures. In June, she announced a CFPB rule to remove medical debt from the credit reports of over 15 million Americans.

“Nobody ought to be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency,” Harris said. “That’s the reason I actually have worked to cancel a whole lot of tens of millions in medical debt up to now—a part of our administration’s overall plan to forgive $7 billion by 2026.”

The White House said the CFPB’s actions and state initiatives should reshape how medical debt is collected and reported, providing much-needed relief to tens of millions of Americans battling healthcare costs. 

Stacy M. Brown is the NNPA Newswire senior national correspondent.