Unpaid medical bills could stay on your credit report up to seven years.
Our video series Credit in 60 Seconds won’t earn you a PhD in credit, but it can help you answer some common credit questions. In this video, you’ll learn how long unpaid medical bills can stay on your credit report. This video shares information like: 1  Your payment history is one factor that plays into your credit score. Typically, if you have a higher credit score, a negative item will hurt more than if you had a lower credit score. The injury to your credit score will lessen over time, but the item will stay on your credit report for seven years. Federal law requires negative items to drop off credit reports within that time. (The only exception is bankruptcy, which can stay on a report for 10 years.). 1  Share this story. 2  LinkedIn. 3  Delicious. 4  Reddit. Medical debt is the most common type of collection account, representing nearly half of all reported collections. Almost 1 in 6 credit reports contain a medical debt collection, according to the Federal Reserve. And about 2 in 5 Americans reported a lower credit rating last year due to unpaid medical bills. 1 Your payment history is one factor that plays into your credit score. 2  Not paying your bills on time could deter lenders from lending you money in the future. 3  Unpaid medical bills could stay on your credit report up to seven years. In this video, you’ll learn how long unpaid medical bills can stay on your credit report. This video shares information like: 1  Accounts paid as agreed will generally stay on your credit report for up to 10 years from the date of last activity. If you’ve paid off your mortgage, for example, that positive information can stay on your credit report for up to a decade from the account’s date of last activity. Certain state laws may also impact how long information stays on your credit report. For current New York residents, for example, paid collections will remain on your credit report for only five years, while unpaid collections will remain for the full seven years. 1 Tax liens. 2  Paid tax liens will typically stay on your credit report for seven years from the date released (paid), while unpaid tax liens can remain on your credit report for 15 years. 3  Bankruptcies. 4  In general, the public record of a bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for 10 years. Certain state laws may also impact how long information stays on your credit report. For current New York residents, for example, paid collections will remain on your credit report for only five years, while unpaid collections will remain for the full seven years. Lenders use the information in your credit report to assess your risk as a borrower, and negative information can make you look risky. Equifax Experts explain how long negative information, such as bankruptcies and collections, generally stay on your credit report. Certain state laws may also impact how long information stays on your credit report. For current New York residents, for example, paid collections will remain on your credit report for only five years, while unpaid collections will remain for the full seven years. For other types of debt, late payments or missed payments only show up on your credit score if the debt is sent to a collection agency. Therefore, the only way that a medical bill can affect your credit score is if an unpaid medical bill is turned over to collections. The real pain of a hospital stay might not hit until long after you're finished with medical care. Medical bills and your credit interact in complex ways, and medical bills can have serious repercussions if you don't keep a close eye on your credit score. The length of time the information remains on your report depends upon how it was reported in the first place: collection accounts stay for seven years, and public records last on your report for ten years. But even after the record of your medical debt disappears from your credit report, your obligation to make payment does not go away. It stays an obligation to the day you die. Free debt relief quote now. Last Updated: June 30, 2015. Collections of any sort on your credit report don't look good, and can do long-term damage, but medical collections can be particularly harmful. The possibility of removing them isn't as straight-forward as the debt validation process, for example, that works so well for credit card collections. Once it's on your report as in collection status, medical debt is probably there to stay for a good seven years, even if you manage to pay it off before then.  Dear Octavia, When you owe money to your doctor or to a hospital, it generally does not show up on your credit report. However, if the bills go unpaid long enough and end up in collections, they're going to be on your credit report, and they will affect your ability to get credit, including a mortgage. 
https://www.freecreditscore.com/blog/video-long-can-medical-bills-stay-credit-report/ http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit/will-unpaid-medical-bills-hurt-credit.aspx https://www.freecreditscore.com/blog/video-long-can-medical-bills-stay-credit-report/ http://blog.equifax.com/credit/how-long-does-information-stay-on-my-credit-report/ http://blog.equifax.com/credit/how-long-does-information-stay-on-my-credit-report/ http://blog.equifax.com/credit/how-long-does-information-stay-on-my-credit-report/ http://freescore.com/medical-bills-on-your-credit-report.aspx https://www.savvyoncredit.com/medical-debt-ever-go-away/ http://www.creditinfocenter.com/repair/medical-collections.shtml http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/how-medical-bills-impact-credit-reports-scores-1294.php
how long can medical bills stay on your credit report