Credit Reporting Changes In July

Posted by Richard on July 14, 2022

Anyone who has struggled to pay off medical bills will get a boost this July as medical credit reporting changes.

Among the changes announced by all three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Transunion):
* Old medical bills that have been paid will no longer appear on credit reports. Medical debt is currently reported for seven years after it is paid off.
* Unpaid medical bills will appear on a credit report only if they remain unpaid for 12 months. Right now there is a six-month grace period.
* Medical debt in collection that is less than $500 will not appear on credit reports. This move is expected to clear 70 percent of medical collections from credit reports.

Credit reports are designed to give lenders, in particular, an idea of whether a person will pay their debts. But 66 percent of medical debts are one-time unexpected and unpaid medical bills. The credit agencies say the medical debts don’t provide an accurate picture of whether a person regularly pays his or her bills.