Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will eliminate what collectively represents tens of billions of dollars in medical debt from consumers' credit reports.
As of July, 2022:
- Any paid medical collection debt will no longer appear on a consumer's credit report;
- Unpaid medical debt will only be reported after one year, rather than the current period of six months; and
- Additionally, in the first half of 2023, the National Consumer Reporting Agencies, such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, will no longer include medical collection debt under $500 on credit reports.
The action is in response to statistics indicating that nearly 25 percent of reports contain medical debt records totaling more than $88 billion. Additionally, in early March 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) stated that it planned to hold credit reporting firms accountable for not exerting adequate action against companies reporting incorrect medical debts. All three companies are currently under investigation by the CFPB for how disputes were handled regarding incorrectly reported data on consumer credit reports.
Posted: March 28, 2022