How do medical bills affect your credit?

You can remove medical bills in collections from your credit report by filing a dispute if the credit report lists inaccurate information about the collections account, by negotiating based on privacy infringement (if applicable), or by waiting out the seven-year timeframe. This timeframe is standard for negative information on credit reports, and in many cases, waiting it out will be your only option.… read full answer

You can only dispute false information on credit reports, and you can only sue for privacy infringement if your medical condition is somehow disclosed through your credit report. Unless you can prove either of these conditions, you cannot remove medical bills from your credit report before the seven-year period is up.

How to Try to Remove Medical Bills From Credit Reports:

1. Review your medical bills and related documentation for mistakes. It’s entirely possible for your insurance provider, care provider, or other related party to make a mistake. If something seems off, make a note of it.
2. Request proof of your medical bills. Once you’ve identified inaccuracies, it’s time to verify them. Request documentation to support the bills you’ve received.
3. File a dispute. If your requested proof of medical debt does not match the details on your credit report, you can file a dispute with the credit bureau. Once your dispute is received, the bureau will make adjustments or respond with a statement within 30 days. You can submit a dispute to TransUnion directly through your WalletHub account. Just select the item in question on your credit report, and click the “Report to TransUnion” link on the bottom right.
4. File (or threaten) a lawsuit. HIPAA privacy laws prevent debt collectors from obtaining information about your medical conditions; this information isn’t necessary for the debt collection process. If you have reason to believe that the debt collector has access to (or is trying to obtain access to) your medical records, you can use the threat of a lawsuit as a negotiating tool. For example, you might be able to settle your debt for less money and secure the complete removal of the collections record from your credit report. That is a far preferable outcome to even having the collections account listed as paid.
5. Be patient. If the medical debt on your credit report is accurate, you will need to wait seven years (from the date your delinquency is reported to the credit bureaus) until it drops off your credit report. If it’s still on your credit report at that point, disputing the expired notation with the credit bureau(s) reporting it should do the trick.

Remember, just because a medical collections account is listed on your credit report doesn’t necessarily mean that it will affect your credit score. Newer credit-score models, such as VantageScore 3.0 (used by WalletHub) and FICO Score 9, stop considering collections accounts once they’ve been paid off. That’s certainly a good incentive to budget and save if you plan on applying for a loan anytime soon. Just bear in mind that credit-scoring specifics vary by lender, so this isn’t guaranteed to pay off.

You can see if any medical collections accounts are affecting your credit score by signing up for a free WalletHub account. WalletHub is the only website offering free credit scores and full credit reports that are updated on a daily basis. The 24/7 credit-monitoring feature of your account will also notify you immediately of any important change to your credit report.

The best way to get paid medical bills off of your credit report is to file a dispute. This only works if the bills have stayed on your credit report beyond the required seven years. There is no way to remove paid medical bills from your credit report before the seven years starting on the date your original delinquency is reported to the credit bureaus.… read full answer

Nevertheless, it is recommended to contact the creditor or debt-collection company to update the status for those accounts. Your credit score should fare better if your account is marked as “settled” rather than “closed” or the collections account is classified as “paid” rather than “open”.