skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A potent winter storm is thumping 1,500 miles of the US. Two more are right behind it; Amid scientists' warnings, Trump admin. sued over medical research cuts; Mississippi communities find local solutions to rural education challenges; CT groups rally against gas pipeline expansion.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Donald Trump approves 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Democrats who oppose dismantling the agency have been denied access to the Department of Education. And some places buck policy trends on sex education and immigration.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Marylanders' medical debt off limits to banks, lenders

play audio
Play

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.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
While states such as North Dakota stand to lose roughly $3 million in medical research funding cuts under a Trump administration budget cutting move, neighbors like Minnesota could lose a lot more, with an analysis projecting more than $117 in funding losses. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A lawsuit has been filed against the Trump administration over its budget-cutting plans targeting medical research led by colleges and universities…


Environment

play sound

Connecticut groups are rallying today against a natural gas pipeline expansion. Project Maple would extend Enbridge's natural-gas pipeline …

Social Issues

play sound

In rural Mississippi, where education disparities run deep, community leaders are stepping up to fill the gaps left by limited resources and …


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission emphasized the need for thorough safety evaluations and regulatory approvals before the Palisades plant in Michigan can be safely restarted. (Holtec International)

Environment

play sound

Environmental groups are raising alarms as the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township moves closer to becoming the first decommissioned nuclear pl…

play sound

A January survey of Montanans showed a large majority support workers' rights, even as several bills that could affect them move through the state …

Social Issues

play sound

A recent online survey revealed strong opposition among Tennessee voters toward expansion of the state's private-school voucher program. More than 50…

Social Issues

play sound

A northwest Texas family is waiting to hear from agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a recent traffic stop. Jose is in the country …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021