Effective July 1, 2022, a reported 70% of medical debt tradelines will begin to be removed from credit reports according to a joint statement from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. They are three of the largest credit reporting agencies and sited their commitment to driving “far and affordable access to credit for all consumers.”
How exactly will medical debt be relieved from credit scores?
Going forward, paid medical debt will no longer appear on your report. Previously, those records could stay on your record for seven years. The agencies have also increased the time period that consumers have to pay off the debt before it appears on the credit report.
Instead of six months, consumers now have a year to pay off their medical debt before it will affect their score.
In 2023, the agencies also plan to stop including unpaid debts that are less than $500 on reports. These decisions join recent announcements by the Biden administration to focus on relieving American’s medical debt, which was released in April 2022.
Consumers can begin checking their scores to confirm that any medical debt they’ve previously paid off has been removed from their credit report. Medical clinics and insurances may expect an influx of messages if patients reach out to ask questions.
Our billing experts keep up to date about important changes that affect the healthcare industry. When you work with Outsource Receivables Inc., you have an experienced team ready to handle your billing needs.