News Article

Vice President Kamala Harris’ new proposal will prevent credit bureaus from considering medical debt on credit reports. This will help the 20 million Americans – including 690,000 Pennsylvanians – who are currently struggling with medical debt. 

Pennsylvania has 1.8 billion in medical debt in collections. Unless the collectors are paid, bills will stay on a credit report for seven years. 

“One of the most significant consequences of carrying medical debt is the harm it does to a person’s credit score,” Vice President Harris said. “Medical debt makes it more difficult for millions of Americans to be approved for a car loan, a home loan or a small business loans. All of which in turn makes it more difficult to just get by, much less get ahead. And that is simply not fair.”

President Biden’s rule has not gone into effect yet — a final version of the proposal will be published on August 12th, and the rule may never go into effect if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. 

This new rule is one part of a larger plan to ease the burden of medical costs. Funding from the American Rescue Plan championed by Vice President Harris is being used to cancel an estimated $115 million in medical debt for up to 40,000 residents in Pittsburgh.

Additionally, efforts championed by Harris have lowered the costs for inhalers and insulin to $35 per month, and will lower the prices of medications that treat high cholesterol, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and heart failure in 2026.

She has also expanded access to insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act (also called the ACA or Obamacare), which led to a record number of people signing up for ACA  insurance.