Vice President Kamala Harris announced that medical debt will no longer be allowed to count toward people’s credit scores as the Biden administration takes another step toward improving lives.
Read: The Republican Presumptive Nominee for President is A Convicted Felon
What Vice President Kamala Harris announced on medical debt
Harris told PoliticusUSA during a call with reporters:
Today, more than 100 million Americans struggle with medical debt. Often, medical debt is the result of a medical emergency. Unplanned and unexpected expenses, often ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the most serious consequences of taking on medical debt is the damage it does to a person’s credit score.
Medical debt makes it harder for millions of Americans to get a car loan, home loan or small business loan. All of this, in turn, makes it harder to survive, let alone succeed. This is simply not fair. Especially when we know that people with medical debt are no less likely to repay their loans than people without medical debt.
No one should be denied access to economic opportunity simply because they experience a medical emergency. So today I’m proud to announce that we’ll soon be making it so medical debt is no longer included in your credit score. We’re doing this so that medical debt doesn’t work against you when you apply for a car loan, home loan, small business loan, or a loan of a similar nature.
As a result of this change, millions of Americans will see their credit scores improve by an average of 20 points, meaning an estimated 22,000 American families will be approved for a mortgage each year and be able to purchase a home.
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Start from scratch. Our administration, President Biden and I, and our administration are committed to reducing the burden of medical debt. To date, we have forgiven more than 650 million people, and we plan to forgive another 7 billion (Class B) for millions of Americans across the country. Today, I’m issuing a call to states, cities, and hospitals across the country. As we work together to eliminate medical debt, President Biden and I will continue to create a future where everyone has the opportunity to build wealth and, in turn, build a stronger economy that benefits us all.
Biden administration’s action on medical debt will help millions of Americans
According to a White House fact sheet, “Today, Vice President Kamala Harris and CFPB Director Rohit Chopra announced a new CFPB action that will remove medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, Their credit scores improved by an average of 20 percentage points, and about 22,000 additional mortgage loans could be approved each year. Under the CFPB’s proposed rules, there would be zero Americans with medical debt listed on their credit reports, down from 46 million in 2020.
Trump and Republicans want to bury millions of Americans with medical debt
Republicans have been proposing legislation and trying to repeal and get rid of the CFPB for years. If Republicans succeed, actions like the medical debt action announced by Vice President Harris will disappear. Millions of Americans will face more debt and fewer protections. If Trump and the Republicans get their way, everything from Biden’s reforms to junk fees charged by banks and credit card companies to not counting people’s medical debt will be gone.
Elections have consequences, and whether millions of Americans realize it or not, a Trump second term will make their lives worse.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press corps and a congressional reporter for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a BA in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, particularly social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association
