[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2592 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2592

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act by instituting a 180-day waiting 
  period before medical debt will be reported on a consumer's credit 
  report and removing paid-off and settled medical debts from credit 
 reports that have been fully paid or settled, to amend the Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act by providing for a timetable for verification 
 of medical debt and to increase the efficiency of credit markets with 
           more perfect information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 2016

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Menendez, and 
 Mr. Schumer) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act by instituting a 180-day waiting 
  period before medical debt will be reported on a consumer's credit 
  report and removing paid-off and settled medical debts from credit 
 reports that have been fully paid or settled, to amend the Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act by providing for a timetable for verification 
 of medical debt and to increase the efficiency of credit markets with 
           more perfect information, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medical Debt Relief Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT.

    (a) Medical Debt Defined.--Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(z) Medical Debt.--The term `medical debt' means a debt described 
in section 604(g)(1)(C).''.
    (b) Exclusion for Paid or Settled Medical Debt.--Section 605(a) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
            ``(7) Any information related to a medical debt if the date 
        on which such debt was placed for collection, charged to profit 
        or loss, or subjected to any similar action antedates the 
        report by less than 180 days.
            ``(8) Any information related to a fully paid or settled 
        medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged 
        off, or in collection which, from the date of payment or 
        settlement, antedates the report by more than 45 days.''.

SEC. 3. VALIDATION OF MEDICAL DEBT.

    (a) In General.--Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1692g) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Validation of Medical Debt.--For purposes of medical debt, 
the following shall apply:
            ``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection:
                    ``(A) Consumer reporting agency.--The term 
                `consumer reporting agency' has the meaning given such 
                term under section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
                Act.
                    ``(B) Medical debt.--The term `medical debt' means 
                a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, 
                products, or devices.
            ``(2) Notice of specific deadline.--Prior to furnishing 
        information regarding a medical debt to a consumer reporting 
        agency, a statement described under subsection (a)(3) shall 
        include the following information:
                    ``(A) That the debt collector could report to a 
                consumer reporting agency regarding the debt at the end 
                of the 180-day period beginning on the date that the 
                debt collector sends the statement.
                    ``(B) The specific date that is the end of the 180-
                day period beginning on the date that the debt 
                collector sends the statement.
                    ``(C) That, if the debt is settled or paid by the 
                consumer or an insurance company during the 180-day 
                period beginning on the date that the debt collector 
                sends the statement--
                            ``(i) the debt will not be reported to a 
                        consumer reporting agency; and
                            ``(ii) the consumer may, during the 180-day 
                        period--
                                    ``(I) communicate with an insurance 
                                company to determine coverage for the 
                                debt; or
                                    ``(II) apply for financial 
                                assistance.
            ``(3) Communications by debt collector.--The debt collector 
        may not, during the 180-day period beginning on the date that 
        the debt collector sends the statement described under 
        paragraph (2), communicate with, or report any information to, 
        any consumer reporting agency regarding such debt. This 
        paragraph shall have no effect on when a debt collector may or 
        may not engage in activities to collect or attempt to collect 
        any debt owed or due or asserted to be owed.
            ``(4) Reporting after the 180-day period.--Nothing in this 
        subsection shall prohibit the debt collector from communicating 
        with, or reporting any information to, any consumer reporting 
        agency regarding such debt after the end of such 180-day 
        period.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect after the end of 
the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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