Finalized by the CFPB in January 2025, the Biden administration's rule aimed to remove medical debt from credit reports and prohibit lenders from using such debt for credit decisions. The rule, which would have impacted $49 billion in medical bills for 15 million people, was blocked by a federal judge in July 2025.
In June 2024, the CFPB finalized a rule to eliminate all medical debt from most credit reports and ban lenders from using medical debt collection information to make underwriting decisions.
CFPB Issues Rule that FCRA Preempts State Measures Barring Medical Debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule on October 20, 2025 stating that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) preempts state measures barring medical debt in consumer credit reports.
Introduced in House (10/19/2023) This bill prohibits consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt on a consumer report (i.e., credit report).
The final rule: Prohibits lenders from considering medical information: The rule ends the special regulatory carveout that previously allowed creditors to use certain medical information in making lending decisions.
If you don't pay medical bills in 2025, they can still go to collections, damage your credit (though new rules aim to help), incur fees/interest, and potentially lead to lawsuits, liens, or wage garnishment, but you can often negotiate payment plans or seek financial assistance to resolve them, with options like California's new law (SB 1061) preventing some reporting.
5 Useful Tips to Help You Erase Medical Debt
Know the limits on debt collectors contacting you
If the medical bill is yours, it is accurate, and you owe the money, then debt collectors can contact you to try to collect it. They may sue you to recover the money—and if they win the lawsuit, they could garnish your wages or place a lien on your home.
The 11-word phrase often cited to stop debt collectors is "Please cease and desist all calls and contact with me, immediately," which leverages your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to halt most communication, though it must be sent in writing via certified mail to be legally binding, and collectors can still notify you of lawsuits.
It's partly true: medical debt * does fall off your credit report* after seven years from the first delinquency date, even if unpaid, and paid medical debt is removed sooner (under $500 debt is removed quickly). However, the debt itself doesn't vanish; the statute of limitations for being sued varies by state (3-10 years) and making a payment can restart it, meaning you could still owe the money and face collection efforts, just not via credit reports after seven years.
No, a hospital cannot turn you away from the emergency room for owing money due to federal law (EMTALA), requiring stabilization for emergencies regardless of ability to pay; however, for non-emergency care, hospitals can refuse treatment, require deposits, or stop services for unpaid bills, especially for private hospitals, though nonprofit hospitals must follow specific financial assistance policies before extreme collections, notes Massachusetts Legal Help and NCLC Digital Library.
About 15 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, have laws restricting or banning medical debt from credit reports, though federal legal challenges and conflicting CFPB rules create uncertainty about their enforcement, with some states recently passing stronger measures like limiting reporting thresholds or interest.
California
California allows healthcare providers to place a lien on your property for unpaid medical bills. This means that if you sell your home, the lien must be satisfied before you receive any proceeds from the sale.
Yes, medical debt can be forgiven or reduced, but it often requires specific programs, income qualifications (like being below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level), or state/local initiatives, with organizations like Dollar For helping patients apply for hospital charity care or debt relief, though it's not automatic for everyone and depends heavily on your location and financial situation.
The 7-in-7 rule (or 7x7 rule) in debt collection, part of the CFPB's Regulation F , limits how often debt collectors can call a consumer about a specific debt: they cannot call more than seven times within seven consecutive days, nor can they call again within seven days of a conversation about that debt, preventing harassment and abusive practices, though these are rebuttable presumptions of compliance.
The Worst Kinds of Debt to Have
Bankruptcy generally does not cover debts like child support, alimony, most taxes (especially recent ones), student loans (unless undue hardship proven), court fines, restitution, and debts from fraud or drunk driving, plus debts not listed on the petition or incurred for luxury goods shortly before filing. These non-dischargeable debts remain even after bankruptcy, meaning you're still responsible for paying them, notes.
Debts resulting from fraud, theft, or embezzlement. Court-ordered fines, penalties, or restitution. Most tax debts (some older tax debts may be dischargeable). Debts that were not listed in your bankruptcy petition (unless the creditor learns of your bankruptcy case).
Small balances are ignored
If you owe as much as $499 and it gets sent to collections and you never, ever pay, it still won't have any impact on your credit score. Note that $500 is the upper limit for any one specific medical debt, not a total debt threshold.
There is no single "minimum" amount that applies to all medical bills, but in many cases, the lowest you can pay is far less than the original balance.