Medical debt and your credit report

The CFPB summarized these changes for consumers: medical debt that's paid or under $500 should no longer be on your report. These are bureau policies, not a federal statute.

In January 2025, the CFPB finalized a rule under Regulation V that would have generally barred medical debt from credit reports used in lending decisions. On July 11, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the rule (CFPB rule page), so it never took effect. The bureaus' voluntary policies above still apply. We'll update this page if the rules change again.

Many medical collections start with a bill the patient didn't expect. The federal No Surprises Act, in effect since January 1, 2022, helps on that front (CMS):

• It protects against surprise bills for most emergency services, and for certain care from out-of-network providers at in-network hospitals and facilities.
• If you're uninsured or paying yourself, you have the right to a good faith estimate when you schedule care in advance or ask for one.
• If your bill is at least $400 more than the good faith estimate, you may be able to dispute it.

Check a bill against these protections before paying it or letting it go to collections. CMS's site explains how to file a dispute or a complaint.

Tax-exempt hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy and follow IRS limits on aggressive collection (IRS § 501(r)(6)). Reporting adverse information to credit bureaus counts as an "extraordinary collection action." A hospital must make reasonable efforts to determine whether you're eligible for financial assistance before taking such actions, which generally means notifying you about its assistance policy and waiting at least 120 days after the first post-discharge billing statement. You generally have at least 240 days from that first statement to apply for assistance.

If a nonprofit hospital's bill is weighing on you, ask for its financial assistance policy and application in writing. If you qualify, approved assistance can reduce or eliminate the bill.

If a bill exists because your insurer denied a claim, you generally have the right to appeal. Under federal rules for most health plans, you can ask the insurer to reconsider through an internal appeal, and if it still says no, you can request an external review by an independent third party (HealthCare.gov).

While an appeal is pending, tell the provider in writing and ask it to hold the account rather than send it to collections. If the denial came from a coding or billing error, ask the provider to correct and resubmit the claim. Keep copies of every letter and explanation of benefits; they're your evidence if the bill later shows up on a credit report.

• Paid medical collections that still appear.
• Medical collections with an initial balance under $500.
• Unpaid medical collections reported less than one year after delinquency.
• Debts that should have been covered by insurance, or amounts that are wrong.
• Duplicates of the same bill from multiple collectors.

Follow the standard dispute process, and include insurance explanation-of-benefits statements or payment receipts as evidence. You can also request validation from the collector (debt validation).

Medical debt collectors follow the same federal rules as other collectors. They must send a validation notice, and if you dispute in writing within the validation period, they must pause collection until they verify the debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692g). Under Regulation F, they generally can't report the debt to a bureau before communicating with you about it (12 CFR § 1006.30(a)). Combined with the bureaus' one-year waiting period for unpaid medical collections, that gives you time to sort out insurance and billing errors before anything appears on your report.

1. 1Pull all three reports and look in the collections section. Medical collections may show the collector's name rather than the provider's.
2. 2Match each item to a bill and your insurance explanation of benefits.
3. 3Flag anything the bureaus' policies exclude: paid medical collections, those with an original balance under $500, and unpaid ones reported less than a year after delinquency.
4. 4Dispute flagged items with the bureau, attaching receipts or explanation-of-benefits pages.
5. 5Recheck in a month or two to confirm the item was removed or corrected.

• Ask for an itemized bill and check it against your insurer's explanation of benefits.
• Ask the provider about financial assistance, especially at nonprofit hospitals, and about payment plans.
• Keep records of calls and insurance appeals.
• Be careful about moving medical bills onto a credit card. Card debt is reported as card debt, without the medical-collection protections.
• Check your state's laws; some states limit medical debt reporting further.