Why does nobody talk about medical collections falling off after 7 years

I had a $340 bill from an ER visit in Detroit back in 2016 that I just forgot about. It showed up on my credit report last year and dropped my score from 720 to 640. I called the hospital and they told me they sold it to a collection agency, but I found out that since it was from 2016, it'll fall off next year anyway. Has anyone else just waited out old medical debt instead of paying it?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliverbailey15h ago

People sleep on it but yeah, just wait it out unless you're buying a house soon.

jason_kelly813h ago

Even crazier is that some states have different rules for medical debt. I'm in Texas and found out there's a 4 year statute of limitations on suing for medical bills, but the credit reporting still follows the 7 year federal rule. So if you're in a state like that, the collection agency can't actually take you to court after that 4 year mark, they can just trash your credit until the 7 years is up. A buddy of mine had a $500 lab bill from 2018 that he ignored, they threatened to sue in 2021 but the statute had already run out in his state. He just waited and it fell off his report this year without paying a dime. Definitely worth checking your state laws before you stress about paying something old.