PATCH Act

John Kennedy

Republican · LA · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

2026-05-21

Source: Congress.gov

Medical debt would no longer appear on credit reports that lenders and other companies use to decide whether to give people loans or credit. This change would prevent unpaid medical bills from damaging someone's credit score, which currently can make it harder to get a mortgage, car loan, or credit card. The proposal affects consumers who have medical debt and the credit reporting agencies that compile financial information about borrowers.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4622 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4622 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the inclusion of medical debt on a consumer report, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2026 Mr. Kennedy 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 to prohibit the inclusion of medical debt on a consumer report, 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 ``Protecting Americans from Treatment- related Credit Harm Act'' or the ``PATCH Act''. 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: ``(bb) Medical Debt.--The term `medical debt' means a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, products, or devices.''. (b) Exclusion for Medical Debt.-- (1) In general.--Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following: ``(6)(A) Any adverse information related to a medical debt, including a medical debt that was placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action. ``(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) may be construed to prevent a consumer reporting agency from collecting the information described in that subparagraph.''. (2) Technical and conforming amendments.--Section 604(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)) is amended-- (A) in paragraph (1)-- (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``(other than medical contact information treated in the manner required under section 605(a)(6))''; (ii) in subparagraph (A), by adding ``or'' at the end; (iii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``; or'' and inserting a period; and (iv) by striking subparagraph (C); and (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(other than medical information treated in the manner required under section 605(a)(6))''. SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF REGULATIONS RELATING TO PROHIBITIONS ON USE OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION. (a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``credit'' and ``creditor'' have the meanings given those terms in section 702 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691a). (b) Requirement.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall amend section 1022.30 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, to ensure that creditors are prohibited from obtaining or using information relating to the medical debt of a consumer in determining whether or not to extend credit to that consumer. <all>

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