A federal judge threw out a finalized rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would have taken medical debt off credit reports.

The judge found the rule exceeded the Bureau's authority and said it goes against the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The bureau says its research shows medical debt is not a good way to predict a person's ability to repay a loan.

The CFPB says removing medical debt was expected to boost millions of people's credit scores by an average of 20 points.

The three national credit reporting agencies announced last year that they are removing medical collections under $500 from credit reports.

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