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At this week’s Research Assistant Peer Group call, we discussed the New Medical Credit Reporting Rule amending Regulation V (the Fair Credit Reporting Act- FCRA), which will become effective March 17, 2025.   

Have you read the rule? Some members noted that one of the most interesting features of the rule is interpreting who, exactly, is the party responsible for NOT reporting medical debt. Is it the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) or the Data Furnisher?  

To answer this question, we looked at the language of the rule, which includes the following key phrases: 

• “a CRA generally may not furnish to a creditor a consumer report containing information on medical debt that the creditor is prohibited from using.”

• “Therefore, final § 1022.38 governs only consumer reporting agencies’ actions and covers only medical debt information contained in a consumer report furnished to a creditor for credit eligibility purposes.” 

This language suggests that the rule affects creditors that pull credit reports and their permissible purpose for doing so and the obligation for not supplying a report to a creditor that contains medical debt falls on the CRA.  

This discussion led to most of our members agreeing that they will not make changes to their credit reporting procedures as a data furnisher at this time. Though they will consider creating training and new talk-offs for their collectors for when consumers are asking about this rule. Basically, keeping it short and sweet. Simply stating that you follow the laws and will follow the rules as they are updated or changed.   

There is also the fact that with the new administration, and the lawsuits already filed on this rule, that things may look different by March 17th. Overall, stay updated and ready for change one way or the other, but for the time being, it is probably best to not make changes to policies and procedures if you currently report medical debt as a data furnisher. PDF on new rule 

Documents and Crowdsourced Materials: 

• Member Questions: Payday lending rule, Consumer credit reporting rule, RMAi meet-up, and more… 

Top Reads: 

• CFPB Report: Strengthening State-Level Consumer Protections
• CFPB files complaint against CRA, alleging faulty dispute resolution procedures
• Federal Court Allows FCRA Claim to Proceed Over Alleged Unauthorized Credit Pulls 

Upcoming Webinars/ Other Announcements: 

• First Research Assistant Compliance Corner Webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 6th
• Important Announcement: All AI Notetaking Bots will be removed from Research Assistant Peer Group Meetings. This is to maintain the confidentiality of our peer members.
• Have topics you want to discuss during the peer call? Please send them to Sara_Consultant@roundtables.us by Thursday to ensure it makes it on our agenda!