Do medical bills affect your credit?

How a medical bill can end up on your credit report

A credit report is a record of how you have paid your debts. Lenders use it to decide whether to give you a loan, and landlords sometimes look at it too. A credit score is a number made from that record.

A doctor's office or hospital does not usually report your bill to the credit bureaus. The trouble starts when the bill goes unpaid for months and the office hands it to a collection agency. A collection agency is a company that tries to collect old bills for a fee, and these companies do report to the credit bureaus.

So a bill that you are still working out with the billing office is usually not on your credit report. Staying in touch with the office is one of the best ways to keep it that way. Our guide on what happens if you don't pay medical bills explains the steps in more detail.

What the credit bureaus do with medical debt today

The three nationwide credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. They changed their own rules on medical collections in 2022 and 2023. These changes are company policies and not laws, so the companies could change them again.

• Paid medical collections no longer appear on your credit reports.
• Unpaid medical collections are not listed until a year after the bill first went unpaid, and the wait used to be six months.
• Medical collections with a starting balance under $500 are left off your reports.

The bureaus said the under $500 change removed nearly 70 percent of medical collection accounts from credit reports. A medical collection that is still listed can generally stay on your report for up to seven years, like other collection accounts.

Because the wait is a full year, you have time to ask for help. Many people can still apply for hospital financial assistance, ask for a smaller bill or set up a payment plan during that year. Scripts for each of these are in our guide on how to negotiate a medical bill.

The federal rule on medical debt was thrown out

In January 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency that protects people who use banks and lenders, finished a rule. It would have taken medical debt off credit reports completely.

The rule never took effect after a federal court in Texas threw it out on July 11, 2025. The court said the agency had gone beyond the power Congress gave it. The agency's own website now says its pages about that rule are kept for reference only.

That means no federal law today bans medical debt from credit reports. Laws can change, so check a current source such as consumerfinance.gov before you rely on this page.

State laws may give extra protection

Some states have passed their own laws about medical debt, and these laws differ a lot. A few of them limit how medical debt is reported. In October 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it believes federal credit reporting law overrides state limits like these. Courts may therefore decide how much those limits protect you. Other state laws limit wage garnishment, which is when a court orders your employer to send part of your pay to a creditor.

We cannot list which states are covered, because the rules keep changing. Your state attorney general's consumer office can tell you what applies where you live. A call to 2-1-1, a confidential phone service that connects people with local help, is another good place to start.

Steps that protect your credit when a bill arrives

1. Open every bill and every letter, and write down the date you got it.
2. Ask for an itemized bill, which lists every charge, and check it for mistakes.
3. Ask the billing office about financial assistance, since nonprofit hospitals must have a written policy for helping patients with low incomes.
4. If you cannot pay in full, ask for a payment plan and get the terms in writing.
5. Check your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com, which the FTC says all three bureaus now offer every week.

A wrong medical collection on your report can be disputed. Federal law lets you tell both the credit bureau and the company that sent the wrong information. To ask for help before a bill reaches collections, read our guide on hospital financial assistance.

A nonprofit hospital also has to wait before it takes big collection steps, and the IRS says that includes reporting you to the credit bureaus. The hospital must wait at least 120 days after the first bill and must tell you about its help program first.

A bill that is already in collections

A bill in collections is stressful, but you still have rights. The collector must send you a written notice that names the company you owe and the amount. You then have 30 days to ask in writing for proof that the debt is yours. Our guide on medical bills in collections explains each step.

Paying with a credit card or a loan just to make the problem go away is a risky move. Interest can make the total much bigger than the first bill. A medical bill that you move onto a credit card or a medical credit card becomes card debt. Missed card payments can then be reported like any other credit card. Look at the medical bill payment plan guide first, and ask the office for a plan with no interest.

Emergency care comes before cost

If you think you are having an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away. Please do not wait because of a bill. Hospitals must screen and stabilize you whether or not you can pay. If you want a doctor you can afford for regular care, you can look through our directory of cash-pay doctors. This page is general education and is not legal or medical advice.