The rule will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of millions of Americans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday finalized its rule barring medical debt from being included on credit reports, potentially freeing up billions in credit. The finalized

Officials said the new regulation, adopted despite objections from the banking and consumer data industries, would remove $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule will remove $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, according to the bureau, which means lenders will no longer be able to take that into consideration when deciding to issue a loan.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule will remove $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, according to the bureau.

The rule would erase an estimated $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of roughly 15 million Americans, the CFPB said. That could help boost those borrowers' credit scores by an average of 20 points,

Americans won’t have to worry about unpaid medical bills damaging their credit reports and scores much longer.