U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is backing new legislation to protect patients from the financial harm of medical debt appearing on credit reports. Speaking in Hartford, Blumenthal joined colleagues in introducing the Medical Debt Relief Act, which would permanently bar all medical debt from credit reports and prohibit creditors from factoring such debt into lending decisions.

The proposal comes in response to the Trump Administration’s recent move to roll back a federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that removed medical debt from credit reports for 15 million Americans. An estimated 280,000 Connecticut residents report medical debt each year.

“A lot of Americans are one paycheck away from financial disaster – a car crash or a medical incident can cause financial ruin. The impact is not only immediate on household finances, but also potentially longstanding because once medical debt is reported it can stay on credit reports for years and years,” said Blumenthal at a press conference in Hartford. “The Medical Debt Relief Act would protect people, not give them a free pass from the debt, but ensure that they are protected against credit reporting that handicaps and straightjackets their financial status.”

Medical debt is the most common type of consumer debt in collection, totaling more than $88 billion nationwide, and is the leading cause of bankruptcy. It disproportionately affects the uninsured, chronically ill, disabled, and minority communities.

The bill has received broad support from consumer advocacy groups including the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Responsible Lending.