Following His Years-Long Effort, Senator Reverend Warnock Applauds New CFPB Rule Removing Medical Debt from Credit Reports

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today a final rule to remove medical debt from credit reports and end coercive debt collection practices

For years Senator Reverend Warnock has pushed CFPB to address the burden of medical debt on Georgians

The rule will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans

In Georgia, 27% of rural citizens have medical collections on their credit report, ten percentage points higher than the national average due in part to the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid

Senator Reverend Warnock serves on the Senate Banking Committee, and previously chaired the subcommittee with jurisdiction over CFPB

Senator Reverend Warnock: “This rule will literally change lives and it was long overdue, which is why I’ve been pushing to get it over the finish line since my early days in the Senate”

Washington, D.C. – Following his years of advocacy, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) issued the following statement celebrating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) newly announced final rule that will remove medical debt from credit reports. As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Warnock has long pushed CFPB to take action addressing the crushing burden of medical debt on Georgians’ finances and economic prosperity, including pushing the agency as recently as last month to issue a final rule removing medical debt from credit reports, and during the last Congress the Senator chaired the Senate subcommittee that oversees the consumer protection agency.

“This is an important day for the more than one million Georgians saddled with medical debt, and it’s especially impactful for our state where local leaders have continued to refuse to expand Medicaid which has left hundreds of thousands of working people vulnerable to the burdensome financial consequences of medical debt. That’s why the rate of Georgians with medical debt is five times higher than the national average,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “This rule will literally change lives and it was long overdue, which is why I’ve been pushing to get it over the finish line since my early days in the Senate. I’m thrilled we finally got it done, and I’m going to use every tool in my power to remove barriers that prevent working people in Georgia and across our country from getting ahead.”

In Georgia, roughly 640,000 people don’t have access to affordable health care because state leaders have refused to expand Medicaid, 27% of rural citizens have medical collections on their credit report—ten percentage points higher than the national average. Senator Warnock has a long track record of working to address the harmful consequences of medical debt on working families:

Last month, Senator Warnock led an effort urging CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to finalize this exact rule before the current administration concludes.

In June, Senator Warnock questioned Director Chopra about the strain medical debt puts on families when it is included in credit reports during a Senate banking committee hearing.

In March Senator Warnock led nine of his Senate colleagues in urging CFPB to protect Americans from predatory medical debt collection practices.

Additionally, in 2022 Senator Warnock called on CFPB to establish an ombudsman position for consumer medical debt to help facilitate efforts to resolve consumer complaints and ensure compliance with federal directives like the ban on surprise medical bills.

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