WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following
statement after the Biden Administration announced it will take
action to address consumer medical debt.
In
a hearing and
a
letter to the CFPB last month,
Sen.
Brown called on the Administration to take greater action to ease the
growing burden of medical debt on consumers.
“No one should have their financial future ruined because they get
sick. These are important steps to protect Americans from abusive debt
collectors, help more than half a million veterans have their medical debt
forgiven, and open up opportunities for more people to buy homes and start
businesses,” said Brown. “We will keep working to hold private
companies accountable, and to bring down the cost of health care and
prescription drugs, so fewer Americans face this debt in the first
place.”
Last month,
Brown
joined Robyn King, of Cleveland, to discuss her story of dealing with the
burden of wrongful medical debt, and Brown’s efforts to protect Ohioans like
her from these abusive practices. On the call, Brown called on the CFPB to
create a medical debt consumer advocate position for medical debt who would
help consumers resolve complaints, and make sure companies are complying with
federal laws, like Brown’s
No
Surprises Act, which protects Americans from surprise medical bills
and recently went into effect.
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