Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Federation of America issued the following statement in response to the final rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on medical debt.

“Too often, consumers get mired in medical debt involuntarily and, even worse, often due to incorrect billing,” said Adam Rust, Director of Financial Services for the Consumer Federation of America. “Using medical debt as a data point for assessing a person’s creditworthiness for a loan is completely unfair. Nonetheless, millions of Americans have found themselves forced to pay the price, both in their financial reputations and actual dollars and cents, just to protect their credit scores. The CFPB’s new rule will end this vicious cycle that supports the avarice of health insurance companies and debt collection agencies over the fair treatment of consumers they’ve saddled with this debt.”