Medical debt is an issue transcending politics—over 90% of U.S. adults agree that elected officials must pass policies that protect people with serious illnesses like cancer from medical debt. In January of this year, the federal government finalized a rule that would ban the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports; the rule is popular, but unfortunately its fate now seems grim. Combined with the looming specter of a federal budget reconciliation package that only threatens to increase medical debt, it is important people to stay engaged and let their representatives know they support the rule and want to see medical debt removed from credit reports.
Fortunately, states are beginning to stand up and take notice. At last count, 13 states have passed legislation banning the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports—and four more states are considering similar bills. Five other states have significant guardrails, meaning almost half the country has recognized that medical debt does not belong on credit reports. Colorado was one of the first states to recognize this back in 2023, and since then a flurry of states have followed. We provide a brief overview of recently filed legislation below:
Ohio
State representatives Michele Grimm (D-Toledo) and Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) introduced the Ohio Medical Debt Fairness Act. The bipartisan bill includes a number of important provisions, including a 3% cap on interest for medical bills, a prohibition on wage garnishment, and banning the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports. As noted by Rep. Schmidt at a press conference announcing the bill, medical debt is “. . .not a partisan issue; this is a people issue.”
Delaware
The state passed a law requiring hospitals to fulfil certain prerequisites before reporting medical debt to credit agencies and is now looking to pass a full ban. State Senator Mantzavinos (D) filed Senate Bill 156, which is awaiting consideration in committee.
Oregon
The Oregon State Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would ban medical debt from credit reports—Senate Bill 605 has passed both chambers but is awaiting concurrence on an amendment that would include medical debt incurred on medical credit cards. Several republicans joined in voting for the bill and it is expected to pass.
More and more states are recognizing the importance of protecting their residents against the harms of medical debt. Banning medical debt from credit reports is a simple first step in the journey to fully eliminate the harms of medical debt, and hopefully this list will only continue to grow.