Saying that it wants to provide sufficient time to brief issues in pending litigation, the CFPB has announced that it is extending the effective date of its advisory opinion on medical debt from Dec. 3, 2024 to Jan. 2, 2025.
ACA International, the association representing the accounts receivable industry, has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia contending that the bureau’s advisory opinion on medical debt was overtly political, issued in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and should be nullified.
In October the CFPB issued an advisory opinion stating that debt collectors are strictly liable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Regulation F for engaging in such practices as attempting to collect a medical debt that was not owed and or was unsubstantiated.
In addition to the ACA lawsuit, R.M Galicia Inc., a debt collector that operates as Progressive Management Systems and engages in medical debt collection, has filed its own suit in the same court.