The Biden administration announced a major initiative to protect Americans from medical debt on Thursday, outlining plans to develop federal rules barring unpaid medical bills from affecting patients’ credit scores.

  • TheTetrapod@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 year ago

    Honestly, if we’re going to have credit, as a society, then credit scores aren’t a terrible solution. Otherwise it’s just you pleading your case to whatever bank employee you happen to be sitting in front of. In the past, that system hasn’t gone well for certain groups that tend to face discrimination.

    • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I get that, but it’s a bit of a red herring. Credit scores ultimately exist to mitigate risk for bankers, and the idea that it equalizes results for the population is secondary. Bankers should be taking on risks with loans, because that’s what the return is based on. If we remove the risk for bankers, but they still make interest, the system is broken.

    • subcytoplasm@l.tta.wtfB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      It is worth noting that credit scores don’t necessarily eliminate bias, it just adds another step. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn if you could predict an individual’s credit score based on non-financial facts because some of the old biases were cooked into the system (by proxy or not). (I very much suspect this is true but don’t have it in me to go hunt down papers right this instant…)

      An improvement over arguing your case with the teller, yes, but not necessarily flawless.