Medical Bills This Winter: What They Can and Can't Do to Your Credit

By Bond & Botes Law Offices

Winter is when a lot of families end up with medical bills they didn't plan for. A bad flu, a fall on an icy step, a late-night trip to the ER with a sick child. The bill shows up weeks later, and for many people the first worry is what it will do to their credit.

You may have heard in early 2025 that medical debt was being removed from credit reports. That rule never took effect. A federal court in Texas threw it out in July 2025, so today there is no federal law that keeps medical debt off your credit report.

What still protects you

The three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, made their own changes in 2022 and 2023, and those are still in place:

• Medical collections you've paid are removed from your report.
• Medical collections under $500 aren't reported.
• An unpaid medical bill generally can't show up as a collection until a year has passed.

What can still hurt you

Once that year is up, an unpaid medical collection of $500 or more can appear on your report. A collector can also sue you over a medical bill, and a court judgment can lead to garnishment of your wages and a judgment lien on any real estate that you own or are buying, which would then encumber that property.

Putting a medical bill on a credit card changes the picture. It becomes credit card debt, the medical protections above no longer apply, and interest starts adding up.

Some states have passed their own laws to keep medical debt off credit reports. Alabama and Mississippi have not.

What to do when the bill comes

• Ask for an itemized bill and check it for errors.
• Ask whether the hospital has a financial assistance program. Nonprofit hospitals are required to have one, and many families qualify without knowing it.
• Ask about an interest-free payment plan before you reach for a credit card.
• If a collector contacts you, you can ask in writing for proof that you owe the debt.