The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) requested and was granted a 90-day stay in the litigation involving trade associations Cornerstone Credit Union League (Cornerstone) and the Consumer Data Industry...more
2/10/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulation V ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Stays
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) finalized a rule aimed at removing an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the consumer reports of approximately 15 million Americans. This rule amends...more
1/9/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Consumer Reports ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Regulation V ,
Trade Associations
On January 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) finalized its rule aimed at removing an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the consumer reports of approximately 15 million Americans....more
On November 13, Representative Gary J. Palmer (R-AL) introduced House Joint Resolution 220, which seeks congressional disapproval of an advisory opinion published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau)...more
On November 1, ACA International, LLC and Collection Bureau Services, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and Director Rohit Chopra, challenging the CFPB’s recent advisory...more
Health care providers often find themselves in the position of collecting direct payments for medical services through patient payment plans. While providers must adhere to a myriad of health care laws when doing so, they...more
10/4/2024
/ Creditors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Patients ,
Payment Plans ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On October 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued an advisory opinion aimed at debt collectors and emphasizing their obligations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Regulation...more
10/4/2024
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation F ,
Regulation V
On September 24, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of consumer protection laws, with three bills aimed directly at collection practices. These new laws introduce significant changes in the areas of...more
On September 9, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada granted summary judgment in favor of a debt collector in a case involving alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the...more
Over the course of the last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has increased its scrutiny of medical financing products, such as medical credit cards and installment loans. In July 2023, the CFPB...more
On June 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a proposed rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), concerning medical debt. The proposed rule would...more
6/13/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation V ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements
On May 16, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 2933. The bill amends the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act making it unlawful for a consumer reporting agency (CRA) to create a consumer...more
Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its second report detailing changes in the credit reporting of medical debts made by the three national consumer reporting agencies (CRAs)...more
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) submitted letters to senators in Connecticut and California supporting their proposals to prohibit medical debt reporting....more
On December 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it had reached a settlement with medical debt collector Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. (Commonwealth) in its lawsuit over alleged illegal debt...more
12/19/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Settlement
On November 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) Annual Report detailing the CFPB’s 2022 activities related to debt collection practices. This...more
11/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt
New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (NYC DCWP) recently released a notice of proposed amendments to its debt collection rules. The proposed amendments are detailed, lengthy, and include expanded...more
10/25/2023
/ City of New York ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Time-Barred Debt
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison recently announced steps the office is taking as part of its “renewed focus” on medical billing. “The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has long been concerned with medical billing...more
On July 7th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Treasury (collectively, the agencies) jointly issued a Request for Information (Request)...more
Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s denial of preliminary injunctive relief to plaintiffs challenging Nevada Senate Bill 248 (S.B. 248), which places new restrictions on the collection of...more
6/26/2023
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Collection ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
First Amendment ,
Medical Debt ,
Nevada ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 7
On June 8, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered a consent order against medical debt collector Phoenix Financial Services for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)...more
The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill, H.R. 1773, that seeks to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The proposed amendment would include a two-year bar on the collection of medical debts...more
On August 25, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed federal agencies involved in originating consumer and small business loans — including the Small Business Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs,...more
On April 11, the White House published a fact sheet, outlining the Biden administration’s actions to lessen the burden of medical debt and increase consumer protection. The plan includes four focus areas...more
On March 18, the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (NCRAs) — announced plans to change how medical debt will be reported on credit reports. The joint measures will result in the...more