Medical bills and your credit report

A medical bill reaches a credit report the way other debts do: the provider sends an unpaid bill to a collector, and the collector reports it. The CFPB's current guidance is that unpaid medical debt more than 365 days past the date of service and over $500 could appear in your credit reports.

The federal rule that is not in effect

In January 2025 the CFPB issued a rule that would have kept most medical debt out of the credit reports lenders use. On July 11, 2025, a federal court in Texas vacated it, at the joint request of the CFPB and the groups that had sued. The CFPB now keeps the rule's materials for reference only. A claim that medical debt "can no longer" appear on credit reports usually traces back to that rule, and it does not apply.

Some states have their own laws on medical debt and credit reports. In October 2025 the CFPB issued an interpretive rule saying federal credit reporting law generally preempts state laws in broad areas of credit reporting. How that affects a particular state law is a question for your state attorney general or a lawyer; check your state.

Check the bill before you pay it

The CFPB suggests these checks:

• Make sure the bill is yours and not already paid. Mix-ups between people with similar names happen.
• Ask the provider for an itemized bill. Look for a service charged twice or one you did not receive.
• If you have insurance, compare the bill with the explanation of benefits. You can appeal a denied claim with the insurer, first internally and then through an external review.
• Ask about financial assistance, sometimes called charity care. Nonprofit hospitals must have a program under the Affordable Care Act.

Surprise bills

The No Surprises Act, in effect since January 1, 2022, protects many insured patients from surprise out-of-network bills, such as out-of-network charges for emergency care. It does not cover ground ambulance rides. A collector that says you owe more than that law allows may be breaking the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and reporting that amount may break the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The CFPB's advice is to dispute such a debt with the collector in writing as soon as you can.

If a medical collection is on your report

• Dispute anything wrong with the bureau and with the collector that reported it (see how to dispute a credit report error).
• If a collector has contacted you, you can ask it to prove the debt inside the 30-day window.
• Paying changes how a collection is reported, not how long it can be reported. See collections on your credit report and pay for delete.
• An old medical bill can be past your state's limit for a lawsuit and still be reportable; see the statute of limitations.

Veterans

Federal law bars the nationwide bureaus from reporting a veteran's medical debt, as the law defines it, for one year after the care was given, and from reporting it at all once it has been paid or settled, when the bureau knows it is a veteran's medical debt. The CFPB also points veterans to the VA's financial hardship assistance for VA medical bills.