New Oregon Senate Bill Ensures Medical Debt Won’t Show on Credit Reports

Oregonians will no longer have medical debt reflected on credit reports if Senate Bill 605 gets the nod from the House.

Senate voted 18-10 in favor of the bill on Wednesday, prohibiting debt-collecting agencies and medical providers from revealing unpaid medical expenses to credit bureaus.

Senate Bill 605 is supported by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a consumer watchdog agency, which finalized a rule earlier this year to prohibit lenders from using medical debt information to assess borrowers and to ban credit agencies from including medical information in credit reports.

The rule would have become effective in March but challenges have delayed its implementation.

Senators believe that SB 605 will provide consumers with protection while the watchdog’s ruling remains uncertain as the Trump administration moves to reduce its workforce and to re-prioritize policies on medical debt.

The bill will give consumers leeway to sue medical service providers like clinics and hospitals, and debt-collecting agencies, from disclosing medical debt.

The restrictions will also apply to information when credit cards are used to pay medical bills.