Biden administration to bar medical debt from credit reports

Medical debt will be stricken from credit reports in a change proposed by the White House that could help millions of Americans land a job, rent a home or obtain a car loan.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, formally announced the proposal to take unpaid medical bills off the table in determining one's credit worthiness in a news conference on Tuesday.

The idea is to no longer "unjustly punish people for getting sick," Chopra said. He noted the potential financial damage caused by one trip to a hospital emergency room, a debt "taken on unexpectedly and in a time of crisis."