Unpaid medical bills are back on the table, which could mean lower credit scores for millions. A federal judge in Texas has struck down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new rule that would have removed medical debt from consumer credit reports,

CFPB research has indicated that medical debt on credit reports is “a poor predictor” of whether a person will repay a loan, but still “contributes to thousands of denied applications on mortgages that consumers would be able to repay,” the agency said at the time the Biden-era rule was finalized.

On July 15, 2025, a Federal Texas judge struck down a significant rule. The Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule would have banned medical debt from appearing on credit reports, which would have benefited roughly 15 million Americans by removing a whopping $49 billion in medical debts.