OLYMPIA [Jake Goldstein-Street]—Just months after Governor Bob Ferguson signed a Washington law to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports, the Trump administration is looking to block such policies.

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now says federal law preempts laws like Washington’s. The federal agency’s position is a reversal from the Biden era.

Backers of Senate Bill 5480, which stops collection agencies from reporting medical debt to credit agencies, decried the move.

“Overturning safeguards around medical debt is just another indicator that we have a president that prioritizes cash money to special interests over people,” said state Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, the bill’s sponsor. “And honestly, I don’t get this upset typically, but I’m pretty upset.”

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