Lenders know better than most about the potentially
devastating impact of inaccurate data when it comes to credit decisions. For
this reason, they likely can appreciate new rulemaking by the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) aimed at eliminating one common source of
inaccuracies in consumer credit reports – medical billing information.
Bearing in mind that about 20 percent of Americans have
medical debt, per a 2022 CFPB report, and that the debt often includes bills
rife with errors, the CFPB is planning a rule under the Fair Credit Reporting
Act to prohibit credit companies from including medical information in credit
reports.