What It Means
Medical debt is money you owe for health care: hospital stays, doctor visits, lab work, ambulance rides and similar bills. If a bill goes unpaid, the provider may send it to a collection agencyDebt collectorA person or company that collects debts owed to someone else, such as a collection agency, debt buyer or collection lawyer, limited by the FDCPA. See more, and a medical collection can then be reported to the credit bureausCredit bureauA company that collects information about how people use credit and sells it as credit reports; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three nationwide ones. See more. Since 2022 and 2023, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have left off paid medical collections, unpaid ones less than a year old, and ones that started under $500. A broader 2025 federal rule that would have removed medical debt from credit reportsCredit reportA record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you. See more entirely was vacated by a court in July 2025.
Try It: Would This Medical Bill Show on Your Credit Report?
Describe one medical bill in collections. The rules are the three nationwide bureaus' voluntary policies from 2022 and 2023.
It shouldn't be. Paid medical collections were removed from July 1, 2022.
It shouldn't be. Medical collections that started under $500 were removed in April 2023.
Not yet. Unpaid medical collections wait a year before they can appear.
It can appear. It's unpaid, at least $500 and over a year old.
If one shows that shouldn't, the CFPB says you can dispute it with the bureau.
How People Say It
- "The ER bill went to collections while I was waiting on insurance."
- "Does medical debt even go on your credit anymore?"
- "It's under $500, so it shouldn't show up."
The Breakdown
Worked example. A family has three medical bills that ended up with collectors. Here's how the bureaus' policies treat each one:
| Bill | Amount | Status | On nationwide reports? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urgent care visit | $350 | Unpaid for 14 months | No, it started under $500 |
| Lab work | $1,200 | Paid in full | No, it's paid |
| Emergency room | $2,400 | Unpaid for 13 months | Can appear |
Planning the payoff. Only the $2,400 bill can be on their reports, but all three are still owed. At a steady $200 a month with no interestInterest rateThe yearly percentage a lender charges for borrowing money, not counting fees; the APR adds certain fees to show a fuller cost. See more, the $2,400 bill takes 12 payments; adding the $350 bill makes $2,750, which takes 14 monthly payments, the last one $150. Putting those numbers into a debt payoff calculator shows how long each order of payments takes.
What the result means. A medical bill missing from your credit report hasn't gone away. The provider or collector can still ask you to pay, and the reporting policies described here are voluntary ones the three bureaus adopted.
Good to Know
The CFPB issued a rule on January 7, 2025 to stop credit bureaus from including medical debt on credit reports and lenders from using it. On July 11, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated that rule, at the joint request of the CFPB and the plaintiffs, so it isn't in force. What still applies are the three bureaus' voluntary changes: paid medical collections off reports since July 1, 2022, a one-year wait before unpaid ones appear, and medical collections under $500 off since April 2023. The CFPB says to dispute any that still show. Before paying a collector, ask for the validation noticeDebt validation letterEither the notice a debt collector must send listing the debt and your rights, or the letter you send back disputing it or asking for proof. See more and compare it with your insurer's statement.
FAQ
Does medical debt still go on credit reports in 2026?
Some can. Under the bureaus' own policies, paid medical collections, unpaid ones less than a year old, and those that started under $500 are left off, while larger unpaid ones over a year old can appear. The 2025 CFPB rule that would have removed all medical debt was vacated in July 2025.
What if a paid medical bill is still on my credit report?
The CFPB says paid medical collections should no longer appear, and you can dispute one that does with the credit bureau reporting it.
Do I still owe medical debt that's not on my credit report?
Yes. Leaving it off a credit report doesn't cancel the bill; the provider or a collector can still ask you to pay it.
Do It in Buhata
Debt Payoff, Bills
With Plus, add each medical bill you owe to Bills with its due date, and use the debt payoff calculator to see how long your monthly payment takes to clear them.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Debt collector
A person or company that collects debts owed to someone else, such as a collection agency, debt buyer or collection lawyer, limited by the FDCPA.
- Debt validation letter
Either the notice a debt collector must send listing the debt and your rights, or the letter you send back disputing it or asking for proof.
- Credit report
A record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you.
- Explanation of benefits
A statement from your health plan, not a bill, that shows what a provider charged for a visit, what the plan paid and what you may owe.
- Out-of-pocket maximum
The most you pay in a plan year for covered in-network care through deductibles, copays and coinsurance, after which the plan pays covered benefits in full.
- Debt payoff plan
A written plan for clearing your debts: every balance, rate and minimum listed, an order to pay them in, and the extra you'll add each month.
Sources
TransUnion Newsroom, "Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Support U.S. Consumers With Changes to Medical Collection Debt Reporting" (2022); TransUnion Newsroom, "Equifax, Experian and TransUnion Remove Medical Collections Debt Under $500 From U.S. Credit Reports" (2023); Equifax, "First Changes to Reporting of Medical Collection Debt Roll Out July 1, 2022"; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Have medical debt? Anything already paid or under $500 should no longer be on your credit report"; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Prohibition on Creditors and Consumer Reporting Agencies Concerning Medical Information (Regulation V)"
- newsroom.transunion.com/equifax-experian-and-transunion-support-us-consumers-with-changes-to-medical-collection-debt-reporting
- newsroom.transunion.com/equifax-experian-and-transunion-remove-medical-collections-debt-under-500-from-us-credit-reports
- www.equifax.com/newsroom/all-news/-/story/first-changes-to-reporting-of-medical-collection-debt-roll-out-july-1-2022
- www.consumerfinance.gov/archive/blog/medical-debt-anything-already-paid-or-under-500-should-no-longer-be-on-your-credit-report
- www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/final-rules/prohibition-on-creditors-and-consumer-reporting-agencies-concerning-medical-information-regulation-v
Last updated .