A bill to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the inclusion of medical debt on a consumer report, and for other purposes.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4622 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4622 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the inclusion of medical debt on a consumer report, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2026 Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the inclusion of medical debt on a consumer report, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Americans from Treatment- related Credit Harm Act'' or the ``PATCH Act''. SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT. (a) Medical Debt Defined.--Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(bb) Medical Debt.--The term `medical debt' means a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, products, or devices.''. (b) Exclusion for Medical Debt.-- (1) In general.--Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following: ``(6)(A) Any adverse information related to a medical debt, including a medical debt that was placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action. ``(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) may be construed to prevent a consumer reporting agency from collecting the information described in that subparagraph.''. (2) Technical and conforming amendments.--Section 604(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)) is amended-- (A) in paragraph (1)-- (i) in the matter