The Department of Health and Human Services will soon require more than 2,000 suppliers to provide medical debtthe White House announced Monday.

Providers may be asked to submit information about their medical bills collect Practices, lawsuits against patients, financial assistance, financial product offerings, and third-party contracts or debt purchases.

HHS will use this information in making grant decisions. The department will also make some data public and share potential breaches with law enforcement agencies.

“The federal government pays the healthcare system approximately $1.5 trillion annually to provide quality care and services to patients. Providers receiving this funding should make it easier for eligible patients to access the financial assistance they are entitled to, not directly or indirectly subject patients to unlawful and harassing debt collection practices,” the announcement said.

The announcement follows an executive order from President Joe Biden earlier this month aimed at making health insurance more affordable and high-quality.The order specifically directs federal agencies to reduce medical debt burdenwhich disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic families.

HHS will hold hearings with providers, consumers and others on how to deal with medical debt, a spokesperson said in an email. HHS did not answer questions about the program’s timeline, how the department will select providers to request data, or what guidelines the department will use to incorporate information into grant decisions.

Rick Kes, an audit partner at consulting firm RSM and senior industry analyst for healthcare, said healthcare systems that have issued financial aid policies should not be shocked by the announcement.

But, Kes said, the announcement was delayed a bit by HHS’s inclusion of collection-related information into grant decisions. He added, however, that guidance is needed on how HHS uses this information for grant decisions.

“It’s a whole new twist that didn’t exist before,” he said, adding that he didn’t think HHS would be too subjective in its decision-making.

Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes said in an email that the American Hospital Association looks forward to hearing more about the initiative. Hughes said hospitals already provide billions of dollars in unpaid care to those who can’t pay, but the system needs to be funded enough so the hospitals can stay open.

consumer credit report Showing $88 billion According to a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as of last June, 58% of third-party collections were for medical debt in the second quarter of 2021. The three major U.S. credit reporting agencies — Equifax, TransUnion and Experian — announced last month that they would forgo medical debt payments from reports.