On May 16, the governor of Vermont signed into law S 27, an act that is meant to provide medical debt relief for Vermont residents by, among other things, excluding medical debt from credit reporting. For fiscal year 2026, $1 million will be appropriated for the purpose of “contracting with a nonprofit entity to acquire and repay certain medical debts” for Vermont residents. The legislation also prohibits credit reporting agencies from reporting and maintaining on file the medical debt information of consumers and restricts large healthcare facilities from selling medical debt, except to qualifying tax-exempt organizations that aim to pay off the debt. This act shall take effect on July 1.