Covered credit agencies would keep newly reported medical debt out of files

Covered health care providers would stop sending medical-debt information to credit agencies and bar that reporting in new contracts with companies that send credit data. The rule covers hospitals, certain facilities, ambulance providers, and their affiliates and staff. It protects people whose main home is in Indiana. Medical debt includes bills for health care services, products, or devices, even when the debt is disputed. Most charges on ordinary credit cards are excluded; cards issued specifically for health care are covered. The reporting ban and contract requirement would apply after June 30, 2026.

Covered credit agencies would keep newly reported medical-debt information out of consumer files. The rule covers files of people whose main home is in Indiana. It excludes a type of private credit reporting company designated under state law. Most charges on ordinary credit cards are excluded; cards issued specifically for health care are covered. The rule would apply to information reported or sent to an agency after June 30, 2026.

When a resident requests deletion, a covered credit agency would take all lawful and reasonable steps to remove a medical-debt record from the resident's file. People whose main home is in Indiana could request removal regardless of when the debt was reported. A designated type of private credit agency is excluded. An agency may set a request form and ask for proper identification, but it may not charge a fee. Most ordinary credit-card charges do not count as medical debt under this bill. The agency would have five business days after receiving the request to take those steps.

A violation would count as a deceptive business act, and only Indiana's attorney general could sue under this provision. It covers violations of the provider reporting and contract rules and the credit agency filing and deletion rules. The restriction on who may sue applies to cases brought under this bill's deceptive-act provision.