As PoliticoPro reported this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a long-awaited rule that would bar medical debt from appearing on Americans' credit reports.
this is significant in permitting debtors to access resources but does not resolve the debt itself, our healthcare industry remains broken, keep up the good work... we have a long way to go..
This is a great first step. I believe it's also unconscionable that billing departments do not tell people that they can apply for financial assistance, opting instead to put a person on a payment plan or send them to collections.
Yes, a help but not a solution. Maybe it's time, in the tradition of the Motor -Voter act (requires Medicaid and other public assistance agencies to ask about an applicant's voter registration), to require that charity groups like Undue Debt, inform anyone donating or applying for relief that a single payer system would solve this problem. SP is, after all, like voter registration, not a partisan idea. Rather, it is a plan that would actually relieve suffering and the accumulation of debt. We must stop believing that the fix is beyond our reach. And maybe, just maybe it's also time to stop pretending that charity is all that we need. Wendell, you are helping us on that journey. Thank you.
imho a very pyrrhic 'victory'. Let's say I carry $250k in medical debt. I will now be able to borrow more money (due to non-mention of said debt in my credit report) and thus will be at a HIGHER risk of bankruptcy in the future due to being overleveraged. Understand that in the US, the government is working against you, the average taxpayer, ALL THE TIME. There are no victories until the criminal class in Congress feels personally threatened and changes the rules of the game. As a 60+ year old vegan without any health issues, all this is of academic interest and amusing to me, but still, get real man!
As important as this step is (and it is worth celebrating!), it's essential that folks realize that it does not eliminate the debt itself... only the use of it in credit reports. As you so correctly state "While this rule will provide immediate relief, the underlying causes of medical debt remain unresolved. As I wrote in HEALTH CARE un-covered, the structural flaws in our health care system — like wallet-burning out-of-pocket costs and insurers that deny coverage for critical care — continue to fuel this crisis. Until we address those root causes, families like Lindsay’s will remain vulnerable." Thanks, Wendell, for your continued work!
A case of treating a symptom rather than the root cause; and for any who benefit, it does not really represent a return to “normalcy.” Opposition has been voiced in the banking and financial services sector for some time and as you say, it might very well be quickly rolled back.
This is really exciting. Every victory counts. Yes, these are greedy behemoths we are fighting and I'm thinking of Laozi quotes about water being able to wear down a stone.
DOES NOTHING ! I have been turned over to collectors, basically for being on social security. I provide copies of SS benefit amount to my senior advantage insurance (what I get each month and yearly total ) They cannot grasp that I cant cover the ONE $180,000/year breast cancer drug and policy premiums, co pays ,and deductibles , out of pocket , oh and rent or food. Is anyone out there getting benefits from Social Security that does???
The CFPB's new rule just kicked the can down the road. As you said, "While this rule will provide immediate relief, the underlying causes of medical debt remain unresolved."
Rather than eliminating medical debt from credit reports, the CFPB should have addressed WHEN that debt can hit the report. Since those debts are so frequently disputed, adjusted and subjected to inappropriate collection measures, that information should not appear until AFTER the disputes are resolved.
When Denial of Access doesn't work , just screw em with high prices /
I can go within my insur network, and in the city I live, for PT if I wait months . and their waiting room is shared with URGENT CARE , uggg . Not pleasant and MBC Immuno compromised, so not safe for me . Last time missed that appt due to ER visit after wait. OR, go outside , out of pocket , drive 2 counties over, and pay a third time ( my medicare and my senior gap policy still paid also ) WORTH IT BUT NOT JUST RIGHT
this is significant in permitting debtors to access resources but does not resolve the debt itself, our healthcare industry remains broken, keep up the good work... we have a long way to go..
This is a great first step. I believe it's also unconscionable that billing departments do not tell people that they can apply for financial assistance, opting instead to put a person on a payment plan or send them to collections.
Yes, a help but not a solution. Maybe it's time, in the tradition of the Motor -Voter act (requires Medicaid and other public assistance agencies to ask about an applicant's voter registration), to require that charity groups like Undue Debt, inform anyone donating or applying for relief that a single payer system would solve this problem. SP is, after all, like voter registration, not a partisan idea. Rather, it is a plan that would actually relieve suffering and the accumulation of debt. We must stop believing that the fix is beyond our reach. And maybe, just maybe it's also time to stop pretending that charity is all that we need. Wendell, you are helping us on that journey. Thank you.
imho a very pyrrhic 'victory'. Let's say I carry $250k in medical debt. I will now be able to borrow more money (due to non-mention of said debt in my credit report) and thus will be at a HIGHER risk of bankruptcy in the future due to being overleveraged. Understand that in the US, the government is working against you, the average taxpayer, ALL THE TIME. There are no victories until the criminal class in Congress feels personally threatened and changes the rules of the game. As a 60+ year old vegan without any health issues, all this is of academic interest and amusing to me, but still, get real man!
I agree. We will see more foreclosures and bankruptcies because of the new rule.
As important as this step is (and it is worth celebrating!), it's essential that folks realize that it does not eliminate the debt itself... only the use of it in credit reports. As you so correctly state "While this rule will provide immediate relief, the underlying causes of medical debt remain unresolved. As I wrote in HEALTH CARE un-covered, the structural flaws in our health care system — like wallet-burning out-of-pocket costs and insurers that deny coverage for critical care — continue to fuel this crisis. Until we address those root causes, families like Lindsay’s will remain vulnerable." Thanks, Wendell, for your continued work!
A case of treating a symptom rather than the root cause; and for any who benefit, it does not really represent a return to “normalcy.” Opposition has been voiced in the banking and financial services sector for some time and as you say, it might very well be quickly rolled back.
Agree 100%
This is really exciting. Every victory counts. Yes, these are greedy behemoths we are fighting and I'm thinking of Laozi quotes about water being able to wear down a stone.
Congratulations
DOES NOTHING ! I have been turned over to collectors, basically for being on social security. I provide copies of SS benefit amount to my senior advantage insurance (what I get each month and yearly total ) They cannot grasp that I cant cover the ONE $180,000/year breast cancer drug and policy premiums, co pays ,and deductibles , out of pocket , oh and rent or food. Is anyone out there getting benefits from Social Security that does???
The CFPB's new rule just kicked the can down the road. As you said, "While this rule will provide immediate relief, the underlying causes of medical debt remain unresolved."
Not likely bc the debt remains in full on all 15 million .
Rather than eliminating medical debt from credit reports, the CFPB should have addressed WHEN that debt can hit the report. Since those debts are so frequently disputed, adjusted and subjected to inappropriate collection measures, that information should not appear until AFTER the disputes are resolved.
When Denial of Access doesn't work , just screw em with high prices /
I can go within my insur network, and in the city I live, for PT if I wait months . and their waiting room is shared with URGENT CARE , uggg . Not pleasant and MBC Immuno compromised, so not safe for me . Last time missed that appt due to ER visit after wait. OR, go outside , out of pocket , drive 2 counties over, and pay a third time ( my medicare and my senior gap policy still paid also ) WORTH IT BUT NOT JUST RIGHT
CFPB has done NADA to affect change in root cause of debt . Done NADA to relieve anyone's debt by even ONE DOLLAR