Can unpaid medical bills hurt your credit?

Yes, unpaid medical bills can hurt your credit, but not in the way most other debts do. Since 2023, the major credit bureaus stopped including paid medical collections on credit reports, and unpaid medical collections under $500 are also excluded. However, if a medical bill goes unpaid long enough to be sent to a third-party collection agency and the amount is $500 or more, it will appear on your credit report as a collection account. That can drop your credit score by 100 points or more, depending on your starting score.

If you are searching this, you likely have a medical bill you cannot pay, possibly due to an unexpected illness, job loss, or high deductible plan. The debt is probably with a hospital or doctor’s office, not a credit card company. The risk level is moderate to high: a collection account stays on your report for seven years from the first missed payment, even if you pay it later. But paying it does not remove it—it just updates the status to "paid."

Your best first step is to verify the bill. Medical billing errors are common. Request an itemized statement from the provider and compare it to your insurance explanation of benefits. If the amount is correct, contact the provider directly to ask about a payment plan or financial assistance. Many hospitals have charity care programs that can reduce or forgive the bill entirely. If the debt is already with a collection agency, you can still negotiate a pay-for-delete agreement in writing, though agencies are not required to agree.

Before you take any action, gather your medical bills, insurance records, and income details. This information will help you see what you can realistically afford. Debt relief options like settlement or hardship programs may be available, but availability depends on your state, the type of debt, your hardship, the account’s status, and the partner criteria of any program you consider.

For a clear, private look at your situation without any pressure, use the DebtSense AI homepage assessment. It will give you a preliminary review of your options based on your specific details, so you can decide what makes sense before speaking with anyone.