ACA International Files Suit Against Colorado’s Unconstitutional Credit Reporting Law
The suit argues the federal FCRA preempts the state law and that Colorado has violated the First Amendment by imposing content-based restrictions on information in consumer reports.
November 5, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – ACA International (“ACA”) and Creditors Bureau USA have filed a legal challenge to Colorado’s law that suppresses accurate information about medical expenses on credit reports.
The lawsuit (PDF) outlines examples of how compromising the accuracy of credit reporting has harmed medical providers and patients throughout Colorado. It also discusses how ignoring Congress and Constitutional rights sets a troubling precedent for states acting in contravention of the law.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to challenge the law, which infringes on the federal government’s authority to provide a uniform fair credit reporting law.
This is on the heels of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) clarifying interpretive rule (PDF) that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) generally preempts state laws related to credit reporting.
The CFPB notes in its interpretive rule:
“…Congress recognized, ‘these uniform national standards . . . operate in a very fundamental way to expand the opportunity for consumers to get access to credit and a broad range of financial services. What they really do is allow you to take your reputation with you as you travel around the country.’
‘Thus, instead of the unified national credit market that we have today, lending and underwriting decisions would have to be based in part on where a borrower lives, since the information available to a creditor making a lending decision could be better or worse depending on the borrower’s State. The utility of credit reports would be undermined because lenders would no longer be able to accurately compare consumers across the country.’”
In comparing HB 23-1126 to the FCRA, the plaintiffs outline how the state’s law is contradictory to a national system that promotes the sharing of accurate, privacy‑respecting credit information for the benefit of consumers and the economy alike.
In the legal challenge, the plaintiffs explain why HB 23-1126 conflicts with the text and legislative history of the FCRA and violates the First Amendment of the Constitution by placing content-based restrictions on protected commercial speech, among several other legal infirmities.
HB 23-1126 suppresses medical debts from credit reports and hides from creditors over $1 billion that is owed to Colorado doctors, nurses, nursing homes, hospitals, ambulances, health clinics and other medical services providers throughout Colorado.
“ACA members serve medical providers across Colorado,” said ACA CEO Scott Purcell. “Today’s actions are aimed at protecting their ability to operate effectively and deliver quality care to patients while also safeguarding a fair, transparent credit ecosystem that helps keep borrowing costs low for all Colorado consumers.”
Leah Dempsey, Co-Chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Financial Services Group and Shareholder at the firm, explains that “By creating a uniform federal system for credit reporting, Congress ensured that consumers nationwide could access credit efficiently and equitably — without the need for cash in hand. Colorado’s attempt to dismantle this framework not only infringes on the constitutional rights of business owners and medical professionals but also undermines the stability of the entire credit marketplace. Such actions risk turning the credit ecosystem into a political battleground, where short-term gain outweighs long-term fairness and economic integrity.”
Jennifer Whipple, ACA’s board president, adds, “Creditors and lenders who lack a complete picture of a consumer’s credit history may extend a loan the consumer cannot afford, which only hurts their financial situation and increases the cost of credit for everyone.”
ACA International (ACA), the association of credit and collection professionals, is the largest membership organization in the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together third-party collection agencies, law firms, asset buying companies, creditors and vendor affiliates, representing tens of thousands of industry professionals. ACA produces a wide variety of products, services and publications, including educational and compliance-related information; and articulates the value of the credit and collection industry to businesses, policymakers and consumers. www.acainternational.org.
ACA-CBUSA vs State of Colorado Filed Complaint 11-5-2025 (PDF)
Contact: Katy Zillmer
Director of Public Affairs
ACA International
[email protected]
