Medical Debt Responsibility Act Dead Again?

For the third year in a row the Medical Debt Responsibility Act appears to have as much chance of passing the deadlocked Congress as the Carpenters have of getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

(UPDATE: Over on Forbes.com, we make the case that the Act should stay dead.)

For months the Act has been stalled in committee in both houses of Congress and now word comes from the staff of one of those committees that the bill ever reaching the floor for a vote is highly unlikely. “In this political environment, bills need to be bipartisan to pass and currently this bill only has democratic cosponsors.” That is reportedly a statement in an e-mail from Sean Oblack, communications director for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, to National Mortgage Professional Magazine.

The bills have languished since February when they were refiled by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). Last year the bills never made it out of committee and this year it appears both bills will face a similar fate.

The bills seek to give consumers an opportunity to wipe medical debt from their credit reports. Once a medical debt is paid or forgiven, credit bureaus would be obligated to remove it from a patient’s credit report within 45 days.