Medical Debt on Your Credit Report: What Changed and What to Do
Medical debt used to be one of the most common — and most damaging — items dragging down people’s credit scores. That’s changed significantly over the past few years, and again in 2026. If you have medical collections on your report, there’s a good chance some of them shouldn’t even be there anymore.
What Changed
Starting in 2022 and 2023, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion voluntarily made three major changes to how they handle medical debt:
– Paid medical collections are removed entirely — once you pay a medical collection, it’s deleted from your report rather than sitting there as a “paid collection”
– Medical debts under $500 don’t appear at all, whether paid or unpaid
– A 365-day grace period — no medical debt is reported for a full year after it goes to collections, giving insurance claims and billing disputes time to resolve
A federal rule proposed by the CFPB would have banned medical debt from credit reports entirely, but that rule was struck down in court and is not currently in effect. That means the protections in place today are bureau policy, not federal law — which matters, because it means these rules could technically change again.
What Can Still Show Up
Despite these changes, medical debt isn’t invisible. Unpaid medical collections of $500 or more that have been in collections for over a year can still appear on your report and affect your score.
There’s also a growing patchwork of state laws layered on top of the bureau policies. Some states — including Oregon, as of a law that took effect in January 2026 — now ban medical debt from credit reports outright at the state level, going further than the bureaus’ voluntary rules. Depending on where you live, you may have stronger protections than what the bureaus offer nationally.
What to Do If You Have Medical Debt on Your Report
1. Check the amount. If it’s under $500, it shouldn’t be on your report at all — that’s groundwork for a dispute.
2. Check the date.** If the debt went to collections less than a year ago, it also shouldn’t be reporting yet.
3. If you’ve paid it, check that it’s actually gone. Bureau policy says paid medical collections get removed, but the collection agency has to update the reporting on their end. Pull your report 30–60 days after payment to confirm it’s cleared.
4. If it’s still there and shouldn’t be, dispute it — either directly with the bureau or through your Paramount Credit Pathway action plan.
How Paramount Credit Pathway Helps
Medical debt reporting rules are more layered now than ever, between bureau policy, a struck-down federal rule, and a growing list of state laws. Inside the Pathway app, your AI credit action plan flags medical collections that may be reporting in error — including balances under $500, debts within the 365-day grace period, and paid accounts still showing on your file — so you know exactly what's worth disputing.
Stop guessing and start following a proven path. Follow the Path. Reach Your Goals. Get started with Paramount Credit Pathway today at https://paramountcreditpathway.com/
