What banning medical debt from your credit score actually means

In the final days of its tenure, the Biden administration has banned credit reporting agencies from including medical debts in their reports, aiming to make it easier for people to access credit, including loans and mortgages.

“No one should be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a White House statement announcing the new rule Tuesday.

The administration first proposed the rule in June 2024, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the final ruling today.