WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today released research showing that 15 million Americans still have medical bills on their credit reports despite changes by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Effective October 20, 2024, New York hospitals must have in place State-mandated changes to their financial assistance (“FA”) programs (including FA eligibility criteria and debt collection practices) and their practices related to consent forms, and patient use of credit cards and medical financial products.
Medical collections on consumer credit reports have been an area of focus for CFPB research in recent years. In addition to studying trends in medical debt as a whole, CFPB reports have documented the burden of medical debt on older Americans, and the incidence of medical collections in rural counties in Appalachia and the Deep South region.
A U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri recently granted a defendant’s summary judgment motion in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case, holding that the plaintiff lacked standing because she did not show an injury in fact traceable to the defendant’s alleged consumer reporting.
A recent TrueAccord blog post reviewing industry insights from the first quarter of 2024 found that high inflation and mounting debt burdens may have an impact on the most effective consumer communication strategies in the months ahead.
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