The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday finalized a new federal rule that would eliminate medical debt from consumer credit reports. There is an estimated $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of roughly 15 million Americans,

Vice President Kamala Harris announced a new regulation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to remove medical debt from all consumer credit reports. “No one should be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency,

The change is estimated to raise the credit scores by an average of 20 points and could lead to 22,000 additional mortgages being approved every year, according to the bureau. Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement announcing the rule that it would be “lifechanging” for millions of families.