Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Native Americans’ Credit Act of 2024”.
Protecting Native Americans’ Credit Act of 2024
A BILL
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to delay the inclusion in consumer credit reports and to establish requirements for debt collectors with respect to medical debt information of Native Americans due to inappropriate or delayed billing payments or reimbursements from the Indian Health Service, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Amendments to Fair Credit Reporting Act
Native american’s 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) Native American—The term “Native American” has the meaning given the term “Indians” or “Indian” in section 1603 of title 25, United States Code, and further includes the term “California Indian” as defined in that section.
“(cc) Native American’s medical debt—The term “Native American’s medical debt”—
“(1) means a debt of a Native American arising from health care provided in a non-Indian Health Service facility that was authorized by an employee of the Indian Health Service; and
“(2) includes medical debt that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has wrongfully charged a Native American.”
Exclusion for Native American’s medical debt— Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(9) Any information related to a Native American’s medical debt if the date on which the hospital care or medical services was rendered relating to the debt antedates the report by less than 1 year.
“(10) Any information related to a fully paid or settled Native American’s medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection.”
Removal of Native American’s medical debt from consumer report— Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended—
in subsection (a)(1)(A) by striking “and except as provided in subsection (g)” and inserting “and except as provided in subsections (g) and (h)”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Dispute process for Native American’s medical debt
“(1) In general—With respect to a Native American’s medical debt of a consumer, the consumer may submit a notice along with proof of liability of the Department of Health and Human Services for payment of that debt or documentation that the Indian Health Service is in the process of making payment for authorized medical services rendered to a consumer reporting agency or a reseller to dispute the inclusion of that debt on a consumer report of the consumer.
“(2) Notification to native american—The Department of Health and Human Services shall submit to a Native American a notice that the Department of Health and Human Services has assumed liability for part or all of a Native American’s medical debt.
“(3) Deletion of information from file—If a notice and proof of liability or documentation is received under paragraph (1), the consumer reporting agency shall delete all information relating to the Native American’s medical debt from the file of the consumer and notify the furnisher and the consumer of that deletion.”
Sec. 3 Effective date
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.