A federal judge has ruled that medical debt can be included on credit reports, contradicting a recent Consumer Finance Protection Bureau ruling. This decision is expected to make it harder for many people to secure mortgages or loans, impacting 22,000 potential mortgage approvals annually.

Judge Sean Jordan found that the CFPB overstepped its authority with the medical debt rule, stating that only Congress can write laws. Two industry associations and the Trump administration joined in the legal challenge, leading to this decision.

The overturned rule would have removed $49 billion in medical bills from credit reports, raising credit scores by an average of 20 points. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated that the change was meant to protect individuals from unfair debt collection practices related to medical bills.

Medical debt often contains errors that unfairly impact credit scores, and it is not a reliable indicator of a person’s ability to pay other loans. While opponents argue that removing medical debt from credit reports could undermine the credit scoring process.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Your medical bills will remain on your credit report after all