John,
When it comes to medical debt, Trump’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is doing the opposite of its mission -- instead of protecting consumers, it’s seeking to protect the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable.
In today’s America, a medical emergency can destroy not only your health, but your entire financial future. Even for those who have health insurance, catastrophic medical expenses for out-of-pocket copays and deductibles can easily run into tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars -- well beyond the ability of middle Americans to pay.
That’s why, under Democratic leadership, the CFPB banned credit bureaus from reporting medical debt -- not to cancel anyone’s bills, but to prevent this unfair debt from haunting people’s lives for years. The reform worked: nearly 15 million Americans saw unjust medical debt removed from their credit reports, giving them a fair shot to rebuild.
But now, Trump’s CFPB appointees are working to undo that progress -- turning the CFPB from a protector of consumers into a weapon aimed squarely at them. They’re moving to let credit bureaus once again report medical debt, even if it comes from billing errors, insurance delays, or life-saving care families had no choice but to accept. They even want to block states from enforcing their own consumer protections. This is unacceptable.
Send a direct message to Congress to demand that they defend the CFPB’s medical debt rule and keep these essential protections in place.
Medical bills are now the leading cause of bankruptcy, pushing more than half a million families into insolvency every year. More than 100 million Americans -- one in three -- are in health care debt.
These aren’t people living recklessly. They’re parents, teachers, veterans, and caregivers who were blindsided by a diagnosis, an accident, or unexpected hospital bills. Instead of being able to focus on their recovery, these families are caught in a downward spiral of debt as the system punishes them again, making it harder to rent an apartment, buy a car, or get a job, simply because they got sick.
If Trump’s appointees to the CFPB succeed, millions will once again be trapped in a cruel cycle: hit first by illness, then by financial ruin. A heart attack, a child’s surgery, or a cancer diagnosis could mean a lifetime of damaged credit and lost opportunity.
Tell Congress: Defend the CFPB’s medical debt rule. Protect Americans from ongoing financial ruin as a result of getting sick.
Getting sick should never mean going bankrupt, and no family should be forced to live under the shadow of a debt they incurred just to survive.
- DFA AF Team
