Medical Bills Interest Rate Relief Act
Latest action · May 6, 2005 Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 10, 2005
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Medical Bills Interest Rate Relief Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) no American family or individual should be forced to choose between the health and life of a loved one and the financial constraints of medical care; (2) financial institutions, including credit card issuers, should not take financial advantage of unforeseen, nonpreventive, or catastrophic medical situations; and (3) individuals or families saddled with large medical bills should receive a fair and equitable credit rating that disregards off-schedule medical bill payments.
Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prescribe guidelines governing the obligations of credit card issuers for credit extended to pay medical expenses.
Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a hospital or other medical treatment facility from submitting to a consumer reporting agency during a five-year period any negative information regarding the failure of a consumer to maintain full payments for medical expenses if the consumer continues in good faith to make partial payments on the outstanding balance on prescribed payment schedule due dates.
Cosponsors 18
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 10, 2005 to Mar 16, 2005; 17 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-VI | Donna M. Christensen | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-CA | Fortney Pete Stark | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-NC | G. K. Butterfield | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-GA | John Lewis | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-FL | Kendrick B. Meek | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-NY | Major R. Owens | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-ME | Michael H. Michaud | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-FL | Robert Wexler | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | Original | Mar 10, 2005 |
| D-IN | Julia Carson | Mar 16, 2005 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Financial Services Committee | Referred Mar 10, 2005 |
| Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Subcommittee | Referred May 6, 2005 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 6, 2005Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
- Mar 10, 2005Introduced in House
- Mar 10, 2005Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E418)
- Mar 10, 2005Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E418 | Alcee L. Hastings D-FL | Mar 10, 2005 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To express the sense of the Congress with respect to the price and terms of credit used to pay large medical bills, to amend the Truth in Lending Act with respect to credit card issuers obligations for credit extended to pay medical expenses under certain circumstances, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Medical Bills Interest Rate Relief Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 10, 2005Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.