Effective July 1, the three major credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) have removed medical debts that went into collection but were later paid from credit reports. Before this change, these types of debts would stay on credit reports for up to 7 years. Starting next year, even more medical debt will be taken off credit reports with all unpaid medical debts up to $500 being stripped from them. The combination of these two changes is expected to remove 70% of the approximately $88 billion in medical debt that currently appears on the credit reports of 43 million Americans. These changes are aimed at helping people with credit checks by landlords and employers as well as applying for loans. According to the CFPB, unpaid medical bills account for 58% of all debt in third-party collection, yet the agency’s research has found that it isn’t a very strong predictor of overall creditworthiness.
Still struggling with debt? Call our office at 816-524-4949 or click here to schedule a consultation to discuss your options with an attorney.