Biden’s New Rule Could Stymie High Medical Debt Rates Among Black Americans

With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office soon, the Biden administration has been using its executive power to issue various new rules and policies, including security aid for Ukraine, commuting death-row sentences, and eliminating medical debts from Americans’ credit reports. In a recent move, President Joe Biden finalized a rule that eliminates unpaid medical bills from credit reports, a change expected to free millions of Americans to secure mortgages, car loans, and small business loans without being hindered by medical debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on January 7 that it will erase an estimated $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of around 15 million Americans. The latest guidelines remove all medical debts, no matter the amount. The new rule prevents medical bills from being listed on credit reports and bans lenders from considering medical information in lending decisions, according to the CFPB. By taking this action, the agency aims to offer much-needed relief to millions burdened by medical debt. In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris called the new rule “life-changing” for millions of families. “No one should be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency,” she said....