The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached an agreement to end a lawsuit challenging its medical debt reporting rule by acknowledging the rule exceeded its authority.
The rule — issued in the final days of the Biden administration — requires reporting agencies to remove medical debt and medical bills from credit reports. It also prohibits lenders from considering medical information when making lending decisions.
The rule was challenged in federal court by groups representing credit unions and the credit reporting industry. The CFPB joined with the plaintiffs on Wednesday in asking the court to vacate the rule. Among other things, the CFPB and plaintiffs said the court should find the rule unlawful because it exceeds the bureau’s statutory authority. The court has not decided whether to grant the request.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the rule. The American Bankers Association supports the resolution, saying the rule “disregards creditors’ legitimate needs for medical debt information and the effect suppressing this information would have on banks’ lending risk, consumers’ default risk, and the availability of credit.”
