Medical debt on your credit report: what the rules are now

The short version

Medical debt can still appear on US credit reports. A federal rule that would have removed most of it was vacated by a court in July 2025, so it never took effect. What remains are voluntary policies the three nationwide credit bureaus announced earlier, plus any rules in your own state.

Here is what that means, and what to do if a medical bill has shown up on your report.

What happened to the federal medical debt rule

On January 7, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that would have limited how medical debt appears in credit reports and how lenders could use it. The CFPB's own page now says the rule was vacated on July 11, 2025, by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, in a case called Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB. The vacatur was granted at the joint request of the CFPB and the plaintiffs, and the court concluded the rule exceeded the CFPB's authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

So there is no federal ban on reporting medical debt. Your state may have its own rules on medical debt, so check with your state's consumer protection office or state AG.

What the credit bureaus changed on their own

Before the rule, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion changed their own policies. A CFPB blog post from May 2023, now archived, describes three changes:

1. Paid medical collections were removed from credit reports.

2. Medical collections under $500 are not reported. That step took effect April 11, 2023.

3. Unpaid medical debt can't appear until one year after you saw the doctor. Before, the waiting period was generally 60 to 120 days.

The post also says credit card debt is treated differently: if you paid a medical bill with a credit card, that card balance is ordinary credit card debt, not medical debt, and these policies don't apply to it.

These are company policies, not federal law. Check each bureau's current policy if you're relying on one of them.

Step 1: Check your credit reports

You can get your reports free from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com, the site the CFPB points to. Look for:

• any collection account with a hospital, clinic, lab or ambulance company as the original creditor;

• medical collections under $500;

• medical collections you have already paid;

• medical debts from care less than a year ago.

Under the bureau policies above, the last three shouldn't appear. The CFPB says to dispute them with the credit bureau if they do.

Step 2: Check whether the debt is accurate

Before you pay or dispute, compare the collection with the original bill and your explanation of benefits (EOB). Common problems include:

• the bill should have gone to your insurer first, or was billed to the wrong insurer;

• insurance paid later, but the balance was never adjusted;

• the amount includes charges the plan's contract says you don't owe;

• the debt belongs to someone else, such as a family member with a similar name;

• you had a dispute or appeal open when the account was sent to collections.

Step 3: Use your rights with the debt collector

When a collector first contacts you, it must send a validation notice. The CFPB says the notice must list, among other things, the collector's name and address, the creditor, an itemized current balance, and the end date of a 30-day period in which you can dispute the debt.

If you dispute the debt in writing within that period, the CFPB says the collector must stop collection activity until it sends you verification. For medical debts, the CFPB notes that the date used for the itemization can be the date of service.

Sample validation notice · Northgate Recovery Services (synthetic)

Original creditor: Northgate Regional Hospital · Account 4471 · Date of service 01/22

Itemization: amount on 01/22 $640.00 · Interest $0.00 · Fees $0.00 · Payments and credits $0.00 · Now due $640.00

You have until 03/15 to dispute all or part of this debt.

Check the date of service against your EOB. If your insurer paid part of this claim, the "payments and credits" line should show it.

A short dispute letter you can adapt

Re: Account [number] · Original creditor [name] · Date of service [date]

I dispute this debt. My insurer's explanation of benefits for this date of service shows [what it shows]. Please send verification of the debt, including an itemized statement from the original creditor, and stop collection until you do.

Send it by a method that gives you proof of delivery, and keep a copy.

Step 4: Dispute errors with the credit bureaus

If an inaccurate medical debt is on your report, dispute it with each bureau that shows it. Include copies, not originals, of your EOB, payment receipts and any letters from the provider or collector. If you can't resolve it, the CFPB takes complaints about both credit reporting and debt collection.

Step 5: Go back to the original provider

A collection doesn't always end your options with the hospital or clinic.

• Ask for an itemized bill. It shows what the balance is made of.

• Ask whether the account can be recalled from collections while you dispute an error or appeal a denial.

• Ask about financial assistance. Tax-exempt nonprofit hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy under IRS rules. It must explain eligibility and how to apply, be available free on request, and be noted on billing statements.

• Ask about a payment plan if the amount is correct but hard to pay at once.

What not to do

• Don't ignore a validation notice; the 30-day dispute window matters.

• Don't pay a collection you believe is wrong before you have checked it against your EOB.

• Don't send originals.

Check the bill before it becomes a debt

When EasyToDecode launches, you'll be able to upload a medical bill, an EOB or a collection notice and see the amounts, dates and creditor quoted from the page, with mismatches flagged and a dispute letter template that cites those lines. See how it works or join the waitlist.