The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that more than half of all overdue debt on credit reports is from medical debt. It’s a problem for more than 43 million Americans says Sen. Bob Menendez, who appeared with Arthur at a press conference to talk about how to bring relief to families who, despite being fully insured, find their credit damaged and their lives turned upside down.

“That’s why I’ve joined several Senate colleagues in introducing the Medical Debt Relief Act to prevent medical debt from continuing to harm consumers credit scores even after it has been paid off or settled,” said the senator. “This simple, common sense measure will ensure that otherwise credit-worthy consumers are able to find affordable credit, which they can use.”

The major provisions of the act would require a 180-day waiting period before reporting medical debt to credit bureaus, requires debt collectors to notify consumer of waiting period and remove settled medical debt from credit reports within 45 days.

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