Why the CFPB’s Medical Debt Rule Hurts the Patients It Aims to Protect

 Chronic disease, high healthcare costs, and overregulated health sanctions have already strained America’s healthcare system, eroding trust in nearly every corner of it. The trust that does remain exists between patient and provider, not only to treat symptoms but to prevent them. Now, a last-minute rule finalized by President Biden’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) threatens to make things worse. The rule bans the consideration of medical debt in credit reports—an action with  far-reaching consequences for patients, providers, and the broader economy. Unless Congress intervenes this month under the narrow window of its Congressional Review Act (CRA) authority, this well-intentioned but deeply flawed regulation could quietly become law — and the damage could be lasting.

For providers, this rule isn’t just about credit scores, it’s about maintaining access to care, and ensuring the sustainability of our healthcare system.

Healthcare providers aren’t banks, but they often act like lenders. When someone receives care and can’t pay upfront, providers typically offer services with the expectation of payment later. If medical debt can’t be reported to credit bureaus, it doesn’t just vanish—it gets absorbed by the providers.

Small practices, especially in rural communities where a physician is more than just a doctor—they're a lifeline—are particularly at risk. Mounting unpaid bills can lead to difficult decisions: cutting services, laying off staff, or in some cases, shutting their doors for good. Over time, these quiet acts of compassion—treating a child with a fever, caring for an elderly patient with diabetes—add up. And when those services disappear, what vanishes isn’t just kindness; it’s daily, essential care.

Providers have spoken out with concerns about the impact on their patients and practices, with over 1,000 comments opposing the ban, but the agency persisted under the false pretense of protection.

Eventually, this financial strain will spread further. To survive, not only will providers raise prices, but insurance companies will be led to increase insurance premiums or out-of-pocket costs for everyone— especially those who already struggle with access to affordable care. Illness and disease are no one’s choice, but for those who suffer from chronic illnesses and are already subject to constant treatments and bills these increased costs will only serve as another symptom. The system needs to protect them.

Making America healthy again doesn’t end with protecting patients from overregulated regimes. It means building a healthcare system that works for all patients, providers, and communities. That means rejecting past administration policies that sound good on paper but ultimately allow costs to be hidden, passed along, and inflated for the rest of us.

In many communities, medical providers are the last line of defense, offering care first and trusting patients to follow through. Stripping away their ability to report unpaid medical debt doesn’t just shift the burden—it threatens the entire system. Republican policymakers in the House and Senate have introduced CRA proposals to repeal the rule, but time is running out.  Legislation must pass by the end of April.

Only if the Senate acts now to approve the legislation can it be moved to the House for immediate approval and then to President Trump to be put into law. Only then will Americans be protected from the potentially disastrous impacts of this ban. Without immediate action, this rule will take effect and with it, consequences that will impact the entire economy and the most vulnerable within it.

Jerry Rogers is editor at RealClearPolicy and RealClearHealth. He hosts 'The Jerry Rogers Show' on WBAL NewsRadio 1090/FM 101.5 and the Federal Newswire's ‘The Business of America’.

https://www.realclearhealth.com/articles/2025/04/25/why_the_cfpbs_medical_debt_rule_hurts_the_patients_it_aims_to_protect_1106389.html