The Attorney General of California today announced he is throwing his support behind a bill in the state legislature that, among other provisions, would prohibit medical debts from being reported on consumers’ credit reports. The bill goes as far as to prohibit the credit reporting agencies from even accepting information about consumers’ medical debts.
“This is a broken part of our current system that needs to be fixed,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, in a published report. “This is California’s opportunity, and we relish the ability to be up in front of key issues.”
The bill in question, SB 1061, was introduced by state Sen. Monique Limon. It simply amends current state law to add “medical debt” to a list of items that “no consumer credit reporting agency shall make any consumer credit report containing any of the following items of information.” The bill does not appear to define what medical debt is or how to determine whether a particular debt is medical or not.
California is attempting to become the latest in a growing list of states that have enacted laws banning the inclusion of healthcare debts in consumers’ credit reports. Colorado and New York were the first two states to enact such a law, and now a number of other states, including Minnesota, are seeking to follow suit.
“You hear so many people now that are concerned about getting medical care because they can’t afford it and instead wait to get worse,” said Sen. Limon, in a published report. “If the bill passes, we’ll see less fear and more people going to get medical care.”
A hearing on the bill before the California Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for April 2.
