All Issues

Debt & Bankruptcy

Debt collectors hound struggling families. Debt settlement and relief services are too often scams. Medical debt and criminal justice fines and fees push people further behind. And access to the fresh start in bankruptcy can be difficult for some. NCLC works to protect financially distressed families and to give them the opportunity to recover.

Key Topics

Bankruptcy

Improving access to bankruptcy for low-income consumers and expanding the relief available.

Coerced Debt

Protecting domestic violence and trafficking survivors and older adults from financial abuse.

Consumer Protections for Renters

Protecting renters from abuses in tenant screening, rental debt collection, junk fees, and more.

Criminal Justice Debt, Fines & Fees

Addressing harmful debts resulting from criminal justice system involvement.

Debt Collection

Protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices.

Debt Settlement & Relief Services

Striving to protect consumers from deceptive debt settlement and relief services.

Medical Debt

Working to reduce the burden of medical debt on individuals and families.

Featured

Recent Resources

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White House Efforts Will Reduce Medical Debt, Protect Consumers from Harmful Debt Collection

October 1, 2024

Comment on Proposed Amendments to Wisconsin’s Debt Adjustment Services Rule

September 27, 2024

NCLC Digital Library: Best Practices in Responding to IRS Debt

September 26, 2024

KFF Health News: California Governor Signs Law Banning Medical Debt From Credit Reports

September 25, 2024

NBC News: ‘Making peoples’ lives hell’: When he couldn’t pay for cancer treatment, the hospital sued

September 14, 2024

Medical Debt Behind Bars: New Report Examines the Impact of Medical Debt on Incarcerated People

September 10, 2024

Comments on Proposed Medicaid and Medicare Program Rules Amending Definition of Custody for Purposes of Medicare Exclusion (CMS-1809-P)

September 9, 2024

Medical Debt Behind Bars: The Punishing Impact of Copays, Fees, and Other Carceral Medical Debt

September 6, 2024

WGBH Boston: The Debt Mills: How state courts grind through consumer debt cases

September 3, 2024

Comments & Letters

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Comment on Proposed Amendments to Wisconsin’s Debt Adjustment Services Rule

September 27, 2024

Comments on Proposed Medicaid and Medicare Program Rules Amending Definition of Custody for Purposes of Medicare Exclusion (CMS-1809-P)

September 9, 2024

NCLC Comments Supporting CFPB Proposal to Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports

August 12, 2024

NCLC Petition for Rulemaking under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to Protect Renters

August 12, 2024

Coalition Comments to DOJ, FTC, HHS on Consolidation in Health Care Markets

June 4, 2024

Comments on Healthcare Consolidation RFI to DOJ FTC HHS

May 30, 2024

Healthcare and Consumer Groups Comments on Facility Fee Junk Fees

February 7, 2024

Letter from 60 Groups: Do Not Delay FCRA Rulemaking

December 4, 2023

Comments Regarding New York City’s 2023 Proposed Amendments to Rules Related to Debt Collectors

November 29, 2023

Reports

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Medical Debt Behind Bars: The Punishing Impact of Copays, Fees, and Other Carceral Medical Debt

September 6, 2024

No Fresh Start 2023: Will States Let Debt Collectors Push Families Into Poverty as Economic Uncertainty Looms?

December 11, 2023

An Ounce of Prevention: A Review of Hospital Financial Assistance Policies in the States

August 25, 2023

Don’t Add Further Insult to Injury: Medical Debt & Credit Reports

January 6, 2023

Unfair Debts With No Way Out: Consumers Share Their Experiences With Rental Debt Collectors

October 7, 2022

The Racial Health and Wealth Gap: Impact of Medical Debt on Black Families

March 9, 2022

Sentenced to a Life of Debt: It Is Time for a Reassessment of How Bankruptcy Law Intersects with Fines and Fees to Keep People in Debt

February 16, 2022

The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State-by-State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

February 1, 2022

Collecting Criminal Justice Debt Through the State Civil Justice System

May 12, 2021

Issue Briefs

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NCLER Tip Sheet: Nursing Home Debt Collection: Issues and Defense

July 31, 2024

Take Action to Support the CFPB’s Medical Debt Credit Reporting Proposal

June 27, 2024

Debt Collection Fairness Act 2024

March 13, 2024

State Policy Resources: Consumer Debt Collection

March 11, 2024

New Process to Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy

February 15, 2024

No Clear Relationship Between Wage Seizure Protections and Access to Credit

February 6, 2024

Consumer Protection and Court-Sponsored Online Dispute Resolution in Collection Lawsuits

September 1, 2023

Protecting Older Adults from Surprise Medical Bills

July 31, 2023

2023-2024 Consumer Protection Federal Priorities

January 13, 2023

Testimony

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Testimony in Support of HB 673 (Maryland)

February 14, 2024

Written Testimony on Nursing Home Debt Collection in New York for the Chief Judge’s 2023 Civil Legal Services Hearing

September 13, 2023

Letter Supporting California’s AB 1119

March 16, 2023

Testimony on House Bill 5427

March 10, 2020

Testimony Before Joint Financial Services Committee in Support of S.578/H.919: An Act Relative to Fairness in Debt Collection.

May 2, 2019

Testimony in Support of House Bill 3076

April 29, 2019

Testimony Before the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, 2019 Regular Session

March 25, 2019

Testimony Responding to the Proposed Amendments to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure Regarding Credit Card Debts

February 20, 2017

GAO Testimony Regarding Debt Settlement: Fraudulent, Abusive, and Deceptive Practices Pose Risk to Consumers

April 22, 2010

Press Releases & News

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White House Efforts Will Reduce Medical Debt, Protect Consumers from Harmful Debt Collection

October 1, 2024

NCLC Digital Library: Best Practices in Responding to IRS Debt

September 26, 2024

KFF Health News: California Governor Signs Law Banning Medical Debt From Credit Reports

September 25, 2024

NBC News: ‘Making peoples’ lives hell’: When he couldn’t pay for cancer treatment, the hospital sued

September 14, 2024

Medical Debt Behind Bars: New Report Examines the Impact of Medical Debt on Incarcerated People

September 10, 2024

WGBH Boston: The Debt Mills: How state courts grind through consumer debt cases

September 3, 2024

NPR: Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.

August 21, 2024

CBS News: What to know about financial risks of increasingly popular medical credit cards (Video)

August 14, 2024

100+ Groups Support the CFPB’s Removal of Medical Debt From Credit Reports

August 12, 2024

Amicus Briefs

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Amicus Brief: Ochoa v. Ford Motor Company

May 6, 2024

Amicus Brief in Salcedo v. Hanna

September 25, 2019

Slip Opinion in Obduskey v. Mccarthy & Holthus LLP

March 20, 2019

Rotkiske v. Klemm

January 8, 2019

Amicus Brief in Ricky Henson, et. al C. Santander Consumer USA, Inc.

February 24, 2017

Amicus Brief in Sheriff v. Gillie

March 2, 2016

Amicus Brief in Marx v. General Revenue Corporation

April 27, 2012

Amicus Brief in United States Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa

October 20, 2009

Amicus Brief in Jerman v. Carlisle

September 28, 2009

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