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January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Marylanders' medical debt off limits to banks, lenders

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Tuesday, January 14, 2025   

A new federal rule could ease some of the pressure when Marylanders apply for loans but may face challenges from the incoming Trump administration.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized a rule, stating credit agencies cannot share a person's medical debt history with a lending institution requesting credit information. The only debt details relayed to determine a person's creditworthiness are mortgages, car loans, credit cards and similar activity.

Patricia Kelmar, senior director of health care campaigns for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said groups like hers had long pushed for the move.

"Medical debt is not really indicative of somebody's ability or desire to pay back a loan," Kelmar contended. "Oftentimes people are in a situation where they get a bad medical diagnosis or they've been in a car accident, suddenly they have a lot of medical bills."

According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, more than 7% of Maryland adults reported having medical debt. The national average is 8%.

Some credit agencies already exclude medical debt in loan situations. Kelmar acknowledged the incoming Trump administration could seek to reverse the rule change, as some advisers have said they want to do away with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau altogether.

Pushback is also expected from debt-collection firms but Kelmar argued skeptics should know keeping medical debt out of the equation is good for the overall economy.

"The long arm of medical debt can really hurt people's financial future, and their ability to get better," Kelmar asserted.

For example, she noted a person emerging from a medical scare might need a new car to rejoin the workforce but the sudden health care debt they incurred might get in the way. The new rule will be effective 60 days after it's published in the Federal Register.


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