CFPB Publishes Data Point on Positive Impacts of Removing Medical Debt Tradelines

On April 11, 2023, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion announced that they removed unpaid medical collections under $500 from consumer credit reports. The three companies, in July 2022, previously removed paid medical collections from credit reports, and extended the delay in medical collection reporting from sixth months after the first delinquency to one year after the first delinquency. In its Data Point released on April 26, 2023, the CFPB reviewed the impact of the removal of medical collection tradelines based on a sampling of credit reports from 2012-2020 and found that removing medical collection tradelines can significantly improve credit scores and credit availability.

In its report, the CFPB focuses on the consumer impact of medical collections because unlike other forms of credit, medical debt is often not incurred voluntarily or with a full understanding of repayment terms. Key findings from the Data Point include:

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