Unpaid medical bills will no longer appear on credit reports, The Associated Press reports, citing a final rule announced Tuesday by the Biden administration.
The AP says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule will reportedly remove $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, which means lenders will no longer be able to take that into consideration when deciding to issue a loan.
The change is estimated to raise the credit scores by an average of 20 points and could lead to 22,000 additional mortgages being approved every year, according to the bureau.
In a statement announcing the rule, Vice President Kamala Harris said it would be “lifechanging” for millions of families. “No one should be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency,” she said.
The Biden administration announced plans for the rule in fall 2023. Read more from The AP here.
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