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HB 6073

Consumer credit: credit reports and reporting agencies; collection and reporting of medical debt information; regulate. Creates new act.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Greg Alexander and 7 co-sponsors

Michigan limits including medical debt in consumer reports, allowing reports only for high-value mortgage transactions; otherwise bans medical debt disclosure by creditors and coll

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Bill Summary · HB 6073

Summary of HB 6073 (2025-2026) – Michigan

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes the Michigan “Medical Debt Act” to limit the inclusion of medical debt information in consumer reports and to regulate the collection and reporting of medical debt.
  • Aims to protect consumers from the inclusion of medical debt details in consumer credit reports and to set standards for how medical debt is collected and disclosed.

Key provisions and changes

  • Prohibition on medical debt in consumer reports (Sec. 5):

    • Unless a narrow exception applies, consumer reporting agencies may not include adverse medical debt information in consumer reports.
    • Exception: Disclosure is allowed if the consumer report is used in a credit transaction involving a principal amount exceeding the national conforming loan limit for a 1-unit property (as determined annually by the FHFA).

  • Definitions (Sec. 3):

    • Clarifies terms such as “consumer,” “consumer report,” “consumer reporting agency,” “medical debt,” “medical creditor,” and “medical debt collector.”
    • Distinguishes medical debt from general debt, and defines what constitutes health care goods and services.

  • Protection against reporting/communication by medical creditors or collectors (Sec. 7):

    • Medical creditors and medical debt collectors are prohibited from communicating with or reporting medical debt information to consumer reporting agencies.

  • Limitations on collection actions and representations (Sec. 9):

    • When attempting to collect or obtain information about medical debt, collection agencies may not represent that such information will be included in a consumer report unless the loan amount in a credit transaction would exceed the FHFA national conforming loan limit (1-unit property).

  • Required disclosure in initial communications (Sec. 11):

    • Collection agencies must include a specific notice in their initial written communication, informing consumers that Michigan law prohibits reporting medical debt information to consumer reporting agencies, except in the FHFA-limit exception scenarios.

  • Civil remedies (Sec. 13):

    • Individuals alleging violations may sue the responsible party for:
    • Actual damages and/or injunctive relief.
    • Court costs and reasonable attorney fees if they prevail.

Who and what is affected

  • Affected entities:

    • Consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus) operating in Michigan.
    • Medical creditors (providers of health care services or goods) and medical debt collectors.
    • Collection agencies engaged in collecting medical debt.

  • Affected individuals:

    • Michigan residents who have medical debt or who interact with medical debt collection processes.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Effective date not specified in the text provided. The bill outlines prohibitions, definitions, and remedies, with enforcement through civil actions.
  • Enforcement and remedies:
    • Civil actions can be brought by individuals alleging violations.
    • Remedies include actual damages, injunctive relief, and recovery of court costs and attorney fees for prevailing plaintiffs.

Additional notes

  • Subsection (2) of Sec. 5 provides the sole exception to the general prohibition on medical debt reporting, tied to high-value credit transactions (principal amount exceeding FHFA national conforming loan limits for a 1-unit property).
  • The law seeks to balance consumer protections with the realities of high-value mortgage lending by allowing medical debt reporting in large-scale credit transactions, but otherwise shielding medical debt information from standard consumer reports.

If you’d like, I can provide a comparison to existing federal rules (e.g., FCRA) or summarize potential implementation considerations for creditors and consumer reporting agencies.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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