Evidence-Based Guide

Does Medical Debt Affect Your Credit?

What medical debt can and cannot do to your credit now, after the federal rule was vacated in 2025.

Medically reviewed by Parth Bhavsar, MD
Last reviewed: October 11, 2026
5 min read

Does medical debt affect your credit?

Yes, medical debt can still affect your credit, but far less than it once did, and the rules have changed several times in the last few years. As of October 2026, there is no federal ban on medical debt appearing in credit reports, because the rule that would have created one was thrown out in court. What protects most people now is a set of voluntary policies from the three major credit bureaus, which keep three categories of medical debt off credit reports, plus laws in some states.
Medically reviewed by Parth Bhavsar, MD. Updated October 11, 2026.

Key Takeaways

  • Medical collection debt under $500 is left off credit reports under the bureaus' policy (NCLC[1]).
  • Paid medical debt is removed from credit reports entirely (NCLC[1]).
  • Medical debt is not reported until it has been delinquent for at least a year (NCLC[1]).
  • The federal rule that would have banned medical debt outright was vacated on July 11, 2025 (CFPB[2]).
  • What can still appear is unpaid medical debt over $500 and older than a year.

The current status, in plain terms

The three nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, agreed in 2022 to three voluntary changes that still stand today (NCLC[1]):

  • Medical debt is not reported until it has been delinquent for at least a year, giving you time to resolve it with a provider or insurer.
  • Paid medical debt is removed from credit reports entirely.
  • Medical debt under $500 is left off reports, even if unpaid and in collections. This took effect in spring 2023.

Taken together, these changes removed an estimated 70% of medical debt from consumer credit reports (Congressional Research Service[3]).

The timeline of what happened

The rules have shifted several times, and knowing the sequence explains the current confusion:

  • 2022: the three bureaus adopt the voluntary policies above.
  • Spring 2023: the under-$500 exclusion takes effect.
  • January 2025: the CFPB finalizes a rule that would have banned medical debt from most credit reports and barred lenders from using medical information in lending decisions.
  • July 11, 2025: a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas vacates that rule in Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB, at the joint request of the CFPB and the plaintiffs (CFPB[2]).
  • October 28, 2025: the CFPB issues an interpretive rule taking the position that the Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts state laws that regulate the contents of credit reports. The CFPB says the rule is not binding and that courts will decide the question (NCLC[1]).

The practical result: there is no federal ban today. Medical debt over $500, unpaid, and more than a year old can still appear, subject to the bureaus' voluntary policies and any state law that applies where you live.

What can still show up on your credit

Because the federal rule is vacated, the kinds of medical debt that can still appear are unpaid debts over $500 that are at least a year old. Paid debts are removed, debts under $500 are excluded, and newer debts are held back for a year. If you have an older, larger, unpaid medical bill in collections, that is the situation most likely to affect your credit.

Whether it hurts your score depends on the scoring model. VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 no longer use medical collection data at all (VantageScore[7]). FICO Score 9 ignores paid collections and gives unpaid medical collections less weight than FICO Score 8, which is still the most widely used FICO score and counts them like other collections (Experian[8]). So the same medical debt can have no effect on one lender's score and a real effect on another's, depending on which model that lender uses.

What to do if medical debt is on your report

The first step is to get your reports and read them. You can request your credit reports free from the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com, the site mandated by federal law.

Checklist

For each medical item on your report

  • If it is under $500, it should not be there, and you can dispute it with the bureau.
  • If it is paid but still listed, dispute the listing, since paid medical debt should have been removed.
  • If the collection is less than a year old, it should not be reported yet under the bureaus’ one-year wait.
  • If it is inaccurate, such as a wrong amount or a bill that insurance should have covered, dispute it in writing to both the bureau and the provider or collector.

A medical bill in collections is still a debt you may owe, and removing it from a credit report does not erase the underlying obligation. Separately, the No Surprises Act[4] protects against certain unexpected out-of-network bills, and the correct first move when a bill looks wrong is to confirm with the provider and insurer what you actually owe.

State laws add another layer

Some states have gone further than the bureaus' voluntary policies. As of September 2026, the National Consumer Law Center counts 15 states and the District of Columbia with laws limiting medical debt in credit reports, including California, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York (NCLC[1]). These laws vary, and the CFPB's October 2025 interpretive rule argues that federal law preempts state credit reporting laws, a question courts have not settled (NCLC[1]). The protection you have depends partly on where you live, on top of the nationwide bureau policies.

How common this problem is

The scale explains why the topic gets so much attention. Americans owe at least $220 billion in medical debt, with about 14 million people owing more than $1,000, according to KFF's analysis of federal survey data (KFF[5]). A broader KFF Health News investigation found more than 100 million people, 41% of adults, carried some form of health care debt (KFF Health News[6]).

Frequently asked questions

Does medical debt affect your credit score?

It can, if it is an unpaid bill over $500 that is more than a year old, and depending on the scoring model. Under $500, paid, or recent medical debt generally does not appear (NCLC[1]).

Is medical debt still on credit reports in 2026?

Yes, some is. The federal rule that would have removed it was vacated in July 2025, so the bureaus' voluntary policies, plus state laws in some states, are what limit it (CFPB[2]; NCLC[1]).

Does medical debt under $500 go on your credit report?

No. The three bureaus stopped reporting medical debt under $500 beginning in spring 2023 (NCLC[1]).

Does paid medical debt stay on your credit report?

No. Paid medical debt is removed from credit reports entirely (NCLC[1]).

How long does medical debt stay on your credit report?

Unpaid medical debt over $500 can appear once it is more than a year old, and generally remains for up to seven years under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, subject to the scoring model's treatment of it.

Does medical debt affect your credit score more than other debt?

Under FICO Score 8, still the most widely used FICO score, medical collections are treated like other collections. FICO Score 9 gives unpaid medical collections less weight (Experian[8]), and VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 do not use medical collections at all (VantageScore[7]).

How do I dispute medical debt on my credit report?

Request your free reports from the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com, then dispute any item that is inaccurate, under $500, or already paid, directly with the bureau.

Is medical debt forgiven if I cannot pay?

Not automatically, but hospital financial assistance can reduce or eliminate the bill, and removing it from a credit report should be pursued separately from the underlying debt.

This is patient education, not financial, legal, or credit advice. The regulatory status described here is current as of October 11, 2026, and this area changes frequently. Reviewed October 11, 2026.

Keep reading

What to Do When You Cannot PayA step-by-step order for a billHospital Financial AssistanceWho qualifies and how to applySurprise Medical BillsYour No Surprises Act protections

About the Author

Parth Bhavsar, MD

Dr. Bhavsar is a board-certified family medicine physician and founder of TeleDirectMD. He writes and reviews this library's coverage of health care costs, insurance, and medical bills.

Medically reviewed by Parth Bhavsar, MD. Last reviewed October 11, 2026.