Official records from the U.S. Senate HELP Committee

Biden Announces Plan to Eliminate Medical Debt in First 100 Days, Remove from Credit Reports

Jul 12, 2024, 08:21 PM

President Joe Biden has announced a plan to eliminate medical debt in the United States, a significant issue affecting millions of Americans. The initiative aims to remove medical debt from credit reports for over 15 million people, potentially raising their credit scores and improving access to homeownership and business opportunities. This move follows recent changes that have reduced the influence of medical debt on credit reports. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is also actively discussing ways to address medical debt, with lawmakers and federal agencies proposing various solutions. Additionally, some local governments are exploring the option of buying up medical debt at a discount and retiring it. Despite these efforts, experts argue that more comprehensive measures are needed to address the root causes of medical debt, such as high healthcare costs and lack of Medicaid expansion in certain states. Biden stated this will be a priority in the first 100 days of his second term. The CFPB is also moving to ban medical debt from credit reports. The Senate hearing on Thursday highlighted these ongoing efforts.