Protecting Native Americans’ Credit Act of 2024

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7515 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7515

   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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2024

Mr. Johnson of South Dakota (for himself, Ms. Schrier, Mrs. Rodgers of 
    Washington, Ms. Leger Fernandez, and Mr. Zinke) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

    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 Native Americans' Credit 
Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT.

    (a) 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.''.
    (b) 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.''.
    (c) 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--
            (1) 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
            (2) 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.
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