Gallego, Colleagues Demand Answers on Trump Administration Re-Adding Medical Debt onto Credit Reports

WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)and 29 Senate colleagues pushed the Trump administration for answers regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) decision to vacate the medical debt rule finalized in January 2025 and re-add medical debt to consumer credit reports.
“On April 30, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) asked a court to vacate the agency’s recently released rule to remove medical debt from consumer credit reports,”the Senators wrote in a letter to Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought.“We write to request the information you relied on in making that determination, including any communications with collection agencies that stand to profit from it.”
“Medical debt collections information is often inaccurate, andstudiesshow that it is not useful in determining a consumer’s ability to repay other debts … Almosthalfof all medical bills contain at least one error, and almosthalfof nonprofit hospitals have routinely and mistakenly billed patients who were eligible for free or discounted care,”the Senators continued.
The Senators emphasized the need for transparency into the agency’s decision-making process.
“On April 30, the CFPB filed a joint motion with the industry groups that oppose the rule, petitioning the court to vacate it – lining the pockets of corporations off the backs of American consumers. Given the substantial evidence that the CFPB’s rule was well-considered and would help consumers without reducing the accuracy of their credit scores, we write to request that the CFPB make public all information relied on by the agency in its decision to drop the rule, including any communications with the debt collection industry,”the Senators closed.
About460,000– or 8.2 percent – of adults in Arizona reported having medical debt in a given year from 2019 and 2021.
Read the full letterHERE.
7/15/25