Finance & Loans

Do Unpaid Medical Bills Reflect on Credit Reports?

If you have received any medical treatment or have been confined at a hospital, but did not pay your medical bills, you may worry about your debt reflecting on your official credit report and affected your credit standing. We will not go into the details of why you weren’t able to pay your medical bills – an even bigger dilemma now is a possibly ruining credit score. Here’s what you need to know about medical debts.

No, a medical debt in the form of an unpaid bill will not reflect on your credit report but only if your doctor or hospital from which you owe something does not subscribe to any credit reporting bureau. The three major credit reporting bureaus are Trans Union, Experian and Equifax – if your doctor or hospital is subscribed to any of these, then your medical debt will show on your report.

If your hospital or doctor is not subscribed to any credit reporting bureau, but has already forwarded your debt to a collections agency, then your medical debt will also show on your credit report because these collections agency do report it to the major credit bureaus. This is of course, unless you dispute the debt’s validity within a month of notification.

If your debt has already been included in your credit report, the best way to have it removed is to agree to pay the debt. After paying your medical bill, you can negotiate to clean up your report. This will require payment and a legal contract. Never rely solely on debt collectors who promise to wipe out your debt. You need to sign a contract.