Rashida Tlaib: “Nearly one in five adults have medical debt collections listed on their credit report. That means one in five Americans…”

“Nearly one in five adults have medical debt collections listed on their credit report. That means one in five Americans may be denied housing, be forced to pay more in rent, struggle to purchase a vehicle, or other necessities because of a sudden health crisis or visit to an emergency room. That hits particularly hard in communities like mine where residents already face challenges with access to credit. This week, I am reintroducing the Consumer Protection for Medical Debt Collections Act to prohibit the collection of medical debt for 2 years and prohibit debt from medically necessary procedures from even being included in a credit report. We passed this legislation in the House last year, and it will be a major step in fixing our broken credit system. This bill, Mr. Speaker, would also provide protections and safeguards for people who, through no fault of their own, got sick and could not afford the medical care due to our broken healthcare system. In the wealthiest country in the history of our world, medical emergencies should not send a family into financial ruin. Collectively, Americans owe more than $195 billion in medical debt, and this is immoral. We need to stop punishing people for being poor and getting sick. Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in our country, and the pandemic has only made the crisis worse. No one, again, chooses to get sick. This is commonsense legislation, and we must get it signed into law.…”