Agencies seek information on medical payment products

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury jointly released a Request for Information regarding certain medical payment products, including medical credit cards, loans and other financial products used to pay for health care. The questions in the RFI relate to the prevalence and nature of these products, as well as their impact on consumers and consumer protections.  
  
Specifically, the agencies are interested in “whether these products may contribute to health care cost inflation, displace hospitals’ provision of financial assistance, lead patients to pay inaccurate or inflated medical bills, increase the amount patients must pay due to financing costs, or otherwise harm patients’ mental, physical, and financial well-being, including through downstream credit reporting and debt collection practices.”

Comments on the RFI are due within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.