WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 13: Dana Downey of Pennsylvania speaks at a roundtable on Capitol Hill on ... [+] September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Health advocates and community members gathered in Washington D.C. to push for action on medical debt in an event hosted by Community Catalyst, a national organization fighting for race equality and health justice. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Community Catalyst)Getty Images for Community CatalystThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule issued by the Biden administration in January that would bar medical debt from being included on credit reports. The agency estimates the step will remove $49 billion in debt from the credit reports of at least 15 million people. The rule would take effect in March. However, President Trump signed an executive order pausing for 60 days all pending rulemaking activity for federal agencies. This includes the CFPB medical debt rule. He also fired the head of the CFPB, Rohit Chopra. Consumer advocates are worried that Trump and legislators may upend action to reduce debt burdens.The health policy organization KFF estimates that up to 100 million Americans have some form of medical debt, with over 40 million owing around $88 billion. In turn, this affects the credit reports of almost half of the people with medical debt, which can lower their ability to take out loans and be considered creditworthy by lenders.A last-minute effort by the Biden administration to ease the burden of medical debt includes guidance issued in January to curb improper medical debt collections and publish resources to help consumers navigate medical bill disputes.But the rule now faces challenges from the new Trump administration. The guidance has also been criticized by Republican lawmakers, who have said that the CFPB lacks the statutory authority to issue its final rule prohibiting lenders from using medical debt data to inform their credit decisions. Theyve called it a threat to credit reporting accuracy. And, companies that issue credit have also threatened legal challenges, including a preliminary injunction to stop it from being implemented, arguing their members would suffer harm in the form of unrecoverable compliance costs if the rule is not enjoined.Thus far, President Trump hasnt taken action to rescind the rule. But given his desire to shrink government and reduce regulations, hes expected to roll back certain rules. Moreover, Trump just ousted Chopra, the Biden-appointed Director of CFPB.MORE FOR YOUThroughout his tenure, Chopra targeted the financial services industry by spearheading consumer protection regulations, such as capping overdraft and credit card fees on banks, mortgage lenders, credit card providers, payday lenders and others. He worked closely with former Vice President Kamala Harris to address the medical debt crisis, too.In 2022, KFF reporters investigated the financial burdens families face when saddled with medical debt. At the time, it was reported that U.S. medical debt totaled $195 billion. Approximately half of adults didnt have sufficient cash to cover an unexpected medical bill, while 50 million adults were paying off bills on an installment plan for their or a family members care.The situation may have worsened since then, given the increase in the numbers of underinsured. Recent numbers suggest that approximately 43% of working-age adults are inadequately insured. These are individuals who are uninsured (9%), have a gap in coverage during the year (11%) or are insured year-round but have coverage that doesnt provide them with affordable access to healthcare (23%).While the CFPB rule could provide immediate relief if it is not nixed by the Trump administration, the underlying causes of medical debt remain unresolved. Structural deficiencies in the healthcare system include the ongoing problems of un- and underinsurance and high out-of-pocket costs for patients. This raises the question of whether there will at some point be reform to the health insurance systems in America, so as to not just alleviate the current medical debt crisis but also prevent it from happening in future.