as of now, medical debt doesn’t hit your personal credit like other debt does, which leads me to…
the debt collectors may try to get you to finance the debt, which absolutely WILL impact your credit if you default. Never finance medical debt, it can only hurt you.
This is of course in addition to the other comment that says you need to ask for proof of ownership from the collectors.
I had a about a $100k medical bill that was covered except for a $5k deductible years ago, which I couldn’t pay. It eventually went away.
Sorry, just getting around to replying to this. For me, it just went away after 7 years. I made a big purchase during that time and still got the interest rate for top tier credit.
Depending on the state, debts with no new activity falls off your Credit History after 7 years(5 in my state). Agreeing to pay, or making a payment, counts as new activity. Don’t pay on shit that you cannot afford to pay off in full over whatever time-frame. Don’t agree to payment plans that don’t reduce the debt witt each payment.
Even if they agree to a lower total amount, it goes on your credit report as being written-off, which often has a worse effect on your score than ignoring the debt.
Couple things here:
This is of course in addition to the other comment that says you need to ask for proof of ownership from the collectors.
I had a about a $100k medical bill that was covered except for a $5k deductible years ago, which I couldn’t pay. It eventually went away.
What did you do to make it go away? How do they get it to impact my credit?
Thanks!
Sorry, just getting around to replying to this. For me, it just went away after 7 years. I made a big purchase during that time and still got the interest rate for top tier credit.
Depending on the state, debts with no new activity falls off your Credit History after 7 years(5 in my state). Agreeing to pay, or making a payment, counts as new activity. Don’t pay on shit that you cannot afford to pay off in full over whatever time-frame. Don’t agree to payment plans that don’t reduce the debt witt each payment.
Even if they agree to a lower total amount, it goes on your credit report as being written-off, which often has a worse effect on your score than ignoring the debt.
If one changes medical debt to non-medical debt, it will impact your credit.
Do not put it on a credit card (less you can pay it off immediately).
I do not know if a creditor based payment plan keeps it as medical debt or not.