Marketplace Morning Report Medical debt and your credit: It's changing and we have an update
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Jun 3, 2025 The podcast delves into the shifting landscape of medical debt and its unique status in credit reporting. It highlights the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's reversal on protections for medical debt and the bipartisan calls for reform. Listeners learn about a nonprofit working diligently to alleviate burdens from medical debt. State legislation is also discussed, revealing efforts to limit medical debt and its implications for healthcare access, particularly in areas lacking expanded Medicaid.
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Medical Debt's Unique Nature
- Medical debt is fundamentally different from consumer debt because it results from illness, not discretionary spending.
- Getting sick predicts medical debt more than willingness or ability to repay loans.
CFPB Shifts Medical Debt Policy
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had removed medical debt from credit reports under Biden.
- The agency under new leadership is backtracking, supporting debt collectors instead of enforcing protections.
Medicaid Cuts Could Worsen Debt
- Proposed federal cuts to Medicaid may increase medical debt and worsen credit impacts.
- This could lead to more people losing health insurance and accumulating medical debt.