Medical Debt in America: 2026 Statistics
Research & Data · 31 min read
Published September 8, 2026
Eighteen percent. That's the share of American adults who told the Federal Reserve in its 2025 survey that they owed money for their own medical care or a family member's. Now open their credit files. In August 2025, just 3.2% of adults with a credit record had a medical bill in collections on that file, according to the Urban Institute's Debt in America data.
Same country. Same year. A gap of more than five to one.
Neither number is wrong. The 18% comes from asking people, so it can catch a hospital payment plan, a dentist's balance, or a bill sitting in a drawer that no collector has ever reported. The 3.2% comes from reading credit records, and since 2022 the three nationwide credit bureaus have deliberately left most medical collections off those records. A great deal of medical debt is owed, chased, and sometimes sued over without ever appearing on a credit report.
That gap is the most important thing to understand about medical debt statistics in 2026, and almost every headline gets it wrong in one direction or the other. This page collects the public numbers from the federal government, KFF, the Urban Institute, the Commonwealth Fund and peer-reviewed research. Each figure carries its publisher, its date, and what kind of measurement it is.
What are the key medical debt figures for 2026?
The headline medical debt figures for 2026 come from two kinds of sources: household surveys, which ask people what they owe, and credit-file data, which counts what collectors report to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Here are the most cited ones in a single table.
| Figure | What it measures | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| 18% of adults | Survey: adults who owe money for their own or a family member's medical care | Federal Reserve SHED, published May 2026 (2025 survey) |
| 16.0% of households, median $2,000 | Survey: households with medical debt in 2024 | U.S. Census Bureau, Wealth of Households: 2024, July 2026 |
| 20 million adults (nearly 1 in 12) | Survey: adults owing more than $250 in medical debt, December 2021 | Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 2024 |
| At least $220 billion | Survey: total medical debt owed by U.S. adults, end of 2021 | Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 2024 |
| 41% of adults | Survey, broad definition: any debt from medical or dental bills, including on credit cards or owed to family | KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022 |
| 3.2% of adults, median $1,448 | Credit files: adults with a medical collection on their credit record, August 2025 | Urban Institute, Debt in America, November 2025 |
| $49.2 billion, about 15 million people | Credit files: medical collections on credit records, June 2023 | CFPB, March 2024 |
| 58% of collection tradelines | Credit files: share of third-party collection accounts that were medical, mid-2021 | CFPB, March 2022 |
Figure18% of adults
- What it measures
- Survey: adults who owe money for their own or a family member's medical care
- Source and date
- Federal Reserve SHED, published May 2026 (2025 survey)
Figure16.0% of households, median $2,000
- What it measures
- Survey: households with medical debt in 2024
- Source and date
- U.S. Census Bureau, Wealth of Households: 2024, July 2026
Figure20 million adults (nearly 1 in 12)
- What it measures
- Survey: adults owing more than $250 in medical debt, December 2021
- Source and date
- Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 2024
FigureAt least $220 billion
- What it measures
- Survey: total medical debt owed by U.S. adults, end of 2021
- Source and date
- Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 2024
Figure41% of adults
- What it measures
- Survey, broad definition: any debt from medical or dental bills, including on credit cards or owed to family
- Source and date
- KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022
Figure3.2% of adults, median $1,448
- What it measures
- Credit files: adults with a medical collection on their credit record, August 2025
- Source and date
- Urban Institute, Debt in America, November 2025
Figure$49.2 billion, about 15 million people
- What it measures
- Credit files: medical collections on credit records, June 2023
- Source and date
- CFPB, March 2024
Figure58% of collection tradelines
- What it measures
- Credit files: share of third-party collection accounts that were medical, mid-2021
- Source and date
- CFPB, March 2022
Every figure is linked in the sources list at the end of this page. Survey figures and credit-file figures are not interchangeable; the next two sections explain why.
Read the first column with the second. A figure without its denominator is how 41% and 3.2% end up quoted as if they describe the same thing.
How many Americans have medical debt in 2026?
Roughly one in six Americans has medical debt, according to the two newest federal surveys. The Federal Reserve found that 18% of adults owed money for medical care in its 2025 survey, and the Census Bureau found that 16.0% of households had medical debt in 2024.
The Fed's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, published in May 2026, asks adults whether they have debt from their own medical care or a family member's, not necessarily from the past year. Eighteen percent said yes. The Fed notes that this share has ranged from 15% to 18% each year since the question was first asked in 2019.
The Census Bureau measures medical debt at the household level. Its Wealth of Households: 2024 report, released in July 2026 from the 2025 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), found that 16.0% of households had medical debt in 2024. The median amount those households owed was $2,000.
18%
of U.S. adults owe money for their own or a family member's medical care
The share has ranged between 15% and 18% in every survey since 2019.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025, published May 2026.
Other surveys set the bar higher or lower, and that changes the answer a lot.
| Survey | Who is counted | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve SHED, 2025 survey (May 2026) | Adults with debt from their own or a family member's medical care | 18% of adults |
| Census SIPP, Wealth of Households: 2024 (July 2026) | Households with medical debt in 2024 | 16.0% of households, median $2,000 |
| Peterson-KFF analysis of SIPP (February 2024) | Adults owing more than $250 in medical bills, December 2021 | About 20 million adults, nearly 1 in 12 |
| Commonwealth Fund, 2024 Biennial Health Insurance Survey (November 2024) | Working-age adults who were uninsured or underinsured, paying off medical or dental debt | Over one-third |
| KFF Health Care Debt Survey (June 2022) | Adults with any debt from medical or dental bills, including on credit cards, bank loans or owed to family | 41% of adults |
SurveyFederal Reserve SHED, 2025 survey (May 2026)
- Who is counted
- Adults with debt from their own or a family member's medical care
- Result
- 18% of adults
SurveyCensus SIPP, Wealth of Households: 2024 (July 2026)
- Who is counted
- Households with medical debt in 2024
- Result
- 16.0% of households, median $2,000
SurveyPeterson-KFF analysis of SIPP (February 2024)
- Who is counted
- Adults owing more than $250 in medical bills, December 2021
- Result
- About 20 million adults, nearly 1 in 12
SurveyCommonwealth Fund, 2024 Biennial Health Insurance Survey (November 2024)
- Who is counted
- Working-age adults who were uninsured or underinsured, paying off medical or dental debt
- Result
- Over one-third
SurveyKFF Health Care Debt Survey (June 2022)
- Who is counted
- Adults with any debt from medical or dental bills, including on credit cards, bank loans or owed to family
- Result
- 41% of adults
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; U.S. Census Bureau; Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker; The Commonwealth Fund; KFF. Each survey defines medical debt differently, so the results are not a range of estimates of one thing.
The KFF Health Care Debt Survey's 41% is the broadest definition in common use. It counts bills that are past due (24% of adults), bills being paid off over time to a provider (21%), medical bills put on a credit card (17%), debt owed to a bank, collection agency or other lender for medical bills (17%), and money borrowed from family or friends (10%). A medical charge on a credit card is still medical debt to the person paying it, even though no credit report will ever label it that way. That's one reason medical debt overlaps with the balances described in the 2026 credit card debt statistics.
The Peterson-KFF figure of 20 million adults is the narrowest. KFF deliberately excludes anyone owing $250 or less, because some people carry trivially small balances. It is also the source most often quoted for the total amount owed, which comes next.
How much medical debt do Americans owe in total?
Americans owed at least $220 billion in medical debt at the end of 2021, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker's analysis of Census SIPP data, published in February 2024. That is the most complete total available, because it counts debt whether or not it ever reached a collector or a credit bureau.
The debt is extremely concentrated. KFF found that about 14 million people, 6% of adults, owed more than $1,000, and about 3 million people, 1% of adults, owed more than $10,000. In KFF's words, "0.3% of adults account for well more than half of the total medical debt."
$220B+
Total medical debt owed by U.S. adults, end of 2021 (KFF)
14 million
Adults owing more than $1,000 in medical debt (KFF)
3 million
Adults owing more than $10,000 in medical debt (KFF)
Several other totals circulate, and each one measures a smaller slice.
| Total | What it counts | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| At least $220 billion | All medical debt adults reported owing above $250, end of 2021 | Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 2024 (SIPP) |
| $140 billion | Medical debt in collections on a 10% sample of TransUnion credit reports, June 2020, scaled up | JAMA, Kluender et al., July 2021 |
| $88 billion | Medical collections on consumer credit records, June 2021 | CFPB, March 2022 |
| $49.2 billion | Medical collections on credit records after the bureaus' reporting changes, June 2023 | CFPB, March 2024 |
TotalAt least $220 billion
- What it counts
- All medical debt adults reported owing above $250, end of 2021
- Source and date
- Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 2024 (SIPP)
Total$140 billion
- What it counts
- Medical debt in collections on a 10% sample of TransUnion credit reports, June 2020, scaled up
- Source and date
- JAMA, Kluender et al., July 2021
Total$88 billion
- What it counts
- Medical collections on consumer credit records, June 2021
- Source and date
- CFPB, March 2022
Total$49.2 billion
- What it counts
- Medical collections on credit records after the bureaus' reporting changes, June 2023
- Source and date
- CFPB, March 2024
The CFPB describes its $49.2 billion as a lower bound, because medical collections are not always reported to all three bureaus and some are never reported at all.
The fall from $88 billion to $49.2 billion between 2021 and 2023 is mostly a change in reporting, not in what people owe. The surveys barely moved. The bureaus did.
The Commonwealth Fund's 2024 survey adds the size of individual balances: nearly half (48%) of working-age adults with medical debt owed $2,000 or more, and 21% owed $5,000 or more. About half (51%) said the debt came from treatment for an ongoing health condition, and hospital care was the most common source, at 49%. That last figure is why so much of the practical advice on medical debt starts with negotiating a hospital bill before and after it reaches collections.
How much medical debt is on credit reports after the 2022 and 2023 changes?
About 15 million Americans still had $49.2 billion in medical collections on their credit records in June 2023, after the three nationwide credit bureaus changed their reporting rules, according to the CFPB. By August 2025, the Urban Institute found 3.2% of adults with a credit record had a medical collection on file, at a median of $1,448.
The changes came in two steps. On July 1, 2022, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion stopped reporting paid medical collections and extended the wait before an unpaid one can appear from 180 days to one year. In April 2023 they stopped reporting medical collections with balances under $500. Both changes are voluntary company policy, not law, and an unpaid medical collection of $500 or more can still be reported for the same seven-year period as any other collection. The detail of what is and isn't reported today is in what the current medical debt credit reporting rules actually say.
The effect on credit files was enormous.
2017 (CFPB credit panel)
Nearly 20%
June 2020 (JAMA, TransUnion sample)
17.8%
March 2022, before the changes (CFPB)
About 14%
June 2023, after the changes (CFPB)
5%
August 2025 (Urban Institute)
3.2%
CFPB, Recent Changes in Medical Collections on Consumer Credit Records, March 2024; Kluender et al., JAMA, July 2021; Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025 data. Different credit panels, so treat the line as a direction, not one continuous series.
The CFPB's March 2024 data point tells most of that story in one place. The share of consumers with a medical collection on their credit record fell from nearly 20% in 2017 to around 14% in March 2022, and then to 5% by June 2023. A 2021 JAMA study using a separate TransUnion sample put the share at 17.8% in June 2020, with $140 billion in medical collections outstanding.
Three details from the CFPB's data are worth keeping:
- The balances that stayed got bigger. The average medical collections balance per consumer rose from around $2,000 to over $3,100, because the small ones came off and the large ones stayed.
- Older Americans gained the most. The share of older consumers with a medical collection fell from 8.4% to 2.7% between March 2022 and June 2023, the largest proportional drop of any age group.
- The South gained the least. Southern states carried the most medical collection balances before the change and generally had the smallest amounts removed afterward.
The CFPB's April 2023 analysis estimated that removing medical collections under $500 would take at least one medical collection off the credit reports of 22.8 million people. That was 73% of everyone who had a medical collection on their report in December 2022.
If a medical collection is on your own report, check whether it should be there at all: a paid one, one under $500, or one less than a year old can be disputed with each bureau showing it. Disputing an error on your credit report covers the process, and reading your credit report line by line is how you find the item in the first place.
What share of debt collections are medical?
Medical bills were the single most common type of collection account on American credit reports before the 2022 changes: 58% of all third-party collection tradelines in mid-2021, according to the CFPB's March 2022 report. The next most common type, telecommunications, was 15%.
of third-party collection accounts on credit reports were medical bills in 2021
The next most common type of collection account, telecommunications, made up 15%. Most medical collection accounts were for balances under $500.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Medical Debt Burden in the United States, March 2022 (data as of 2021).
Medical collections are numerous and small. The CFPB found that most medical collection tradelines were under $500, though many people with medical debt had several of them at once. That's why the $500 threshold removed most of the accounts but not most of the money: by the CFPB's own measure, a majority of medical collection balances stayed on credit records after the changes.
The CFPB's March 2022 report also made a point that matters for credit scores: medical collections are less predictive of whether someone will repay future credit than other kinds of collections are. A person with a $900 emergency room balance is not, statistically, the same risk as a person with a $900 defaulted credit card. The CFPB noted that certain newer credit scoring models take this into account, while some widely used models still weight medical and nonmedical collections equally, which is why how much a collection drops your credit score depends heavily on which model a lender pulls.
The wider collection industry, including who buys these accounts and how often collectors sue, is covered in the companion roundup of debt collection statistics for 2026.
What happened to the CFPB's medical debt credit reporting rule?
The CFPB's medical debt credit reporting rule was vacated by a federal court on July 11, 2025, and never took effect. The rule, finalized in January 2025, would have barred most medical bills from the credit reports lenders use.
When the Bureau published the final rule in the Federal Register on January 14, 2025, it noted that 15 million Americans still had $49 billion in medical bills on their consumer reports even after the bureaus' voluntary changes. Those were the accounts the rule would have reached.
Then the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated it in Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB. According to the CFPB's own notice on the rule page, the court held that the rule "exceeded the Bureau's statutory authority and was contrary to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)."
- Mar 2022
CFPB counts $88 billion
The Bureau reports $88 billion in medical collections on credit records as of June 2021, 58% of all collection tradelines.
- Jul 1, 2022
Paid medical collections come off
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion stop reporting paid medical collections and wait one year, up from 180 days, before reporting an unpaid one.
- Apr 2023
Balances under $500 come off
The bureaus stop reporting medical collections under $500. By June 2023 the share of consumers with one falls to 5%.
- Jan 2025
The CFPB finalizes its rule
Published January 14, 2025, it would have removed an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the reports of 15 million people.
- Jul 11, 2025
A federal court vacates the rule
Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB, Eastern District of Texas. The rule never takes effect.
- Oct 28, 2025
The CFPB reverses on state laws
A new interpretive rule says the FCRA generally preempts state laws touching broad areas of credit reporting.
- Aug 10, 2026
A Texas medical debt reporting law is held preempted
The Western District of Texas holds a narrower Texas medical debt reporting statute preempted by the FCRA and permanently enjoins its enforcement.
CFPB reports of March 2022 and March 2024; Federal Register, January 14 and October 28, 2025; CFPB vacatur notice, July 2025; W.D. Tex. order of August 10, 2026.
What's in force today is the bureaus' voluntary policy: no paid medical collections, no unpaid ones under a year old, nothing under $500. Anything that says a federal rule removed medical debt from credit reports is describing a rule that no longer exists.
Which states ban medical debt from credit reports?
At least nine states had their own laws keeping medical debt off credit reports in force by the end of July 2025: Colorado, New York, Minnesota, Virginia, California, Illinois, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Each statute below was checked against the state legislature's own page. The list is not complete: Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Delaware and Oregon have also passed medical debt reporting laws, several of them taking effect in late 2025 or 2026, and they are not in the table.
| State | Law | In force | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | HB23-1126 | August 7, 2023 | Bars consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt in consumer reports |
| New York | S4907A (Chapter 727 of 2023) | December 13, 2023 | Bars hospitals, health care professionals and ambulance services from reporting medical debt, and credit bureaus from reporting or keeping it; reported debt is void |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 332C.03 (Laws 2024, ch. 114) | October 1, 2024 | Bars those collecting medical debt from reporting it, and consumer reporting agencies from making a report they know or should know concerns medical debt |
| Virginia | Va. Code § 59.1-444.4 (2024 Acts, ch. 751) | July 1, 2024 | Bars medical facilities, licensed practitioners, EMS agencies and their collectors from reporting medical debt |
| California | SB 1061 (Chapter 520, 2024) | January 1, 2025 | Bars furnishing medical debt to credit reporting agencies and bars them from including it; knowingly reported debt is void |
| Illinois | Public Act 103-0648 | January 1, 2025 | Makes it unlawful for a consumer reporting agency to report medical debt |
| Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 6-60 (P.L. 2024, ch. 224 and 225) | January 1, 2025 | Bars providers and collectors from reporting medical debt, and credit bureaus from reporting it |
| Vermont | Act 21 of 2025 (S.27) | July 1, 2025 | Bars credit reporting agencies, and large health care facilities and their collectors, from reporting medical debt |
| Washington | ESSB 5480 (Chapter 145, 2025 Laws) | July 27, 2025 | Bars providers and collectors from reporting medical debt, and credit bureaus from including it; reported debt is void |
StateColorado
- Law
- HB23-1126
- In force
- August 7, 2023
- What it does
- Bars consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt in consumer reports
StateNew York
- Law
- S4907A (Chapter 727 of 2023)
- In force
- December 13, 2023
- What it does
- Bars hospitals, health care professionals and ambulance services from reporting medical debt, and credit bureaus from reporting or keeping it; reported debt is void
StateMinnesota
- Law
- Minn. Stat. § 332C.03 (Laws 2024, ch. 114)
- In force
- October 1, 2024
- What it does
- Bars those collecting medical debt from reporting it, and consumer reporting agencies from making a report they know or should know concerns medical debt
StateVirginia
- Law
- Va. Code § 59.1-444.4 (2024 Acts, ch. 751)
- In force
- July 1, 2024
- What it does
- Bars medical facilities, licensed practitioners, EMS agencies and their collectors from reporting medical debt
StateCalifornia
- Law
- SB 1061 (Chapter 520, 2024)
- In force
- January 1, 2025
- What it does
- Bars furnishing medical debt to credit reporting agencies and bars them from including it; knowingly reported debt is void
StateIllinois
- Law
- Public Act 103-0648
- In force
- January 1, 2025
- What it does
- Makes it unlawful for a consumer reporting agency to report medical debt
StateRhode Island
- Law
- R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 6-60 (P.L. 2024, ch. 224 and 225)
- In force
- January 1, 2025
- What it does
- Bars providers and collectors from reporting medical debt, and credit bureaus from reporting it
StateVermont
- Law
- Act 21 of 2025 (S.27)
- In force
- July 1, 2025
- What it does
- Bars credit reporting agencies, and large health care facilities and their collectors, from reporting medical debt
StateWashington
- Law
- ESSB 5480 (Chapter 145, 2025 Laws)
- In force
- July 27, 2025
- What it does
- Bars providers and collectors from reporting medical debt, and credit bureaus from including it; reported debt is void
Colorado General Assembly; New York State Senate; Minnesota Revisor of Statutes; Virginia General Assembly; California Legislative Information; Illinois General Assembly; Rhode Island General Assembly; Vermont General Assembly; Washington State Legislature. Not a complete list: Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Delaware and Oregon have also passed medical debt reporting laws.
States in blue are the nine in the table above, verified individually against each legislature's page. Other states with newer or narrower laws are not shaded.
State legislature pages for Colorado HB23-1126, New York S4907A, Minn. Stat. § 332C.03, Va. Code § 59.1-444.4, California SB 1061, Illinois Public Act 103-0648, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 6-60, Vermont Act 21 of 2025 and Washington SB 5480.
Colorado's HB23-1126 took effect on August 7, 2023. Illinois Public Act 103-0648 followed on January 1, 2025, and Washington's ESSB 5480 on July 27, 2025. The laws show up directly in the credit data. The Urban Institute says it leaves out of its August 2025 medical debt figures seven states that have "implemented legislation that restricts the ability to report medical debt on credit reports." Urban doesn't name them on the page, but in its state data file the seven with no medical debt figure are California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, all on the list above.
The durability of these laws is contested. On October 28, 2025, the CFPB issued an interpretive rule stating that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act "generally preempts State laws that touch on broad areas of credit reporting," replacing July 2022 guidance that had taken a much narrower view of preemption. The new rule says outright that a state law prohibiting medical debt from appearing on a credit report is preempted. An interpretive rule is the Bureau's reading of the law, not a court ruling, but it puts the parts of these state laws that bind credit bureaus under direct federal challenge. And on August 10, 2026, Judge Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas declared a Texas medical debt reporting statute preempted and permanently enjoined its enforcement. The Texas law was narrower than the nine above: it barred credit bureaus from reporting certain out-of-network balances that insured patients owed to emergency or facility-based providers. The court's reasoning, that the FCRA keeps states from adding their own limits on adverse information in credit reports, including medical debt, reaches well beyond Texas, though the ruling itself binds no other state.
Which states have the most medical debt in collections?
Oklahoma had the highest share of adults with a medical collection on their credit record in August 2025, at 8.7%, followed by Wyoming at 8.5% and Tennessee at 7.9%, according to the Urban Institute. Minnesota was lowest among the states Urban reports, at 0.3%.
- Under 1%
- 1–3%
- 3–5%
- 5–7%
- 7% and above
Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025 credit bureau data, updated November 20, 2025. 43 states plus DC. California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington (gray) have no figure in Urban's state file; Urban says it excludes seven states whose laws restrict medical debt reporting.
| State | Adults with a medical collection | Median medical collection balance |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 5.9% | $1,350 |
| Alaska | 5.8% | $1,536 |
| Arizona | 4.5% | $1,457 |
| Arkansas | 6.3% | $1,416 |
| California | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| Colorado | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| Connecticut | 0.9% | $1,073 |
| Delaware | 5.7% | $1,811 |
| District of Columbia | 1.0% | $1,260 |
| Florida | 4.3% | $1,554 |
| Georgia | 7.4% | $1,465 |
| Hawaii | 1.1% | $1,368 |
| Idaho | 2.6% | $1,498 |
| Illinois | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| Indiana | 4.5% | $1,284 |
| Iowa | 2.3% | $1,149 |
| Kansas | 3.4% | $1,453 |
| Kentucky | 5.1% | $1,179 |
| Louisiana | 6.8% | $1,560 |
| Maine | 5.0% | $1,393 |
| Maryland | 1.7% | $1,000 |
| Massachusetts | 1.1% | $1,488 |
| Michigan | 3.1% | $1,094 |
| Minnesota | 0.3% | $1,426 |
| Mississippi | 5.3% | $1,487 |
| Missouri | 4.8% | $1,344 |
| Montana | 3.8% | $1,803 |
| Nebraska | 2.1% | $1,224 |
| Nevada | 6.9% | $2,028 |
| New Hampshire | 1.9% | $1,358 |
| New Jersey | 1.5% | $1,050 |
| New Mexico | 5.3% | $1,544 |
| New York | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| North Carolina | 3.7% | $1,123 |
| North Dakota | 1.9% | $1,338 |
| Ohio | 4.4% | $1,270 |
| Oklahoma | 8.7% | $1,645 |
| Oregon | 0.9% | $1,468 |
| Pennsylvania | 2.6% | $1,260 |
| Rhode Island | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| South Carolina | 4.7% | $1,330 |
| South Dakota | 1.1% | $1,631 |
| Tennessee | 7.9% | $1,505 |
| Texas | 7.6% | $1,566 |
| Utah | 2.3% | $1,499 |
| Vermont | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| Virginia | 0.8% | $1,177 |
| Washington | Not reported (state reporting law) | n/a |
| West Virginia | 5.6% | $1,426 |
| Wisconsin | 3.2% | $1,428 |
| Wyoming | 8.5% | $2,381 |
| United States | 3.2% | $1,448 |
StateAlabama
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,350
StateAlaska
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.8%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,536
StateArizona
- Adults with a medical collection
- 4.5%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,457
StateArkansas
- Adults with a medical collection
- 6.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,416
StateCalifornia
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateColorado
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateConnecticut
- Adults with a medical collection
- 0.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,073
StateDelaware
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.7%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,811
StateDistrict of Columbia
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.0%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,260
StateFlorida
- Adults with a medical collection
- 4.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,554
StateGeorgia
- Adults with a medical collection
- 7.4%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,465
StateHawaii
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.1%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,368
StateIdaho
- Adults with a medical collection
- 2.6%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,498
StateIllinois
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateIndiana
- Adults with a medical collection
- 4.5%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,284
StateIowa
- Adults with a medical collection
- 2.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,149
StateKansas
- Adults with a medical collection
- 3.4%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,453
StateKentucky
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.1%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,179
StateLouisiana
- Adults with a medical collection
- 6.8%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,560
StateMaine
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.0%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,393
StateMaryland
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.7%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,000
StateMassachusetts
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.1%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,488
StateMichigan
- Adults with a medical collection
- 3.1%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,094
StateMinnesota
- Adults with a medical collection
- 0.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,426
StateMississippi
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,487
StateMissouri
- Adults with a medical collection
- 4.8%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,344
StateMontana
- Adults with a medical collection
- 3.8%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,803
StateNebraska
- Adults with a medical collection
- 2.1%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,224
StateNevada
- Adults with a medical collection
- 6.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $2,028
StateNew Hampshire
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,358
StateNew Jersey
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.5%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,050
StateNew Mexico
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,544
StateNew York
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateNorth Carolina
- Adults with a medical collection
- 3.7%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,123
StateNorth Dakota
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,338
StateOhio
- Adults with a medical collection
- 4.4%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,270
StateOklahoma
- Adults with a medical collection
- 8.7%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,645
StateOregon
- Adults with a medical collection
- 0.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,468
StatePennsylvania
- Adults with a medical collection
- 2.6%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,260
StateRhode Island
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateSouth Carolina
- Adults with a medical collection
- 4.7%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,330
StateSouth Dakota
- Adults with a medical collection
- 1.1%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,631
StateTennessee
- Adults with a medical collection
- 7.9%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,505
StateTexas
- Adults with a medical collection
- 7.6%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,566
StateUtah
- Adults with a medical collection
- 2.3%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,499
StateVermont
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateVirginia
- Adults with a medical collection
- 0.8%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,177
StateWashington
- Adults with a medical collection
- Not reported (state reporting law)
- Median medical collection balance
- n/a
StateWest Virginia
- Adults with a medical collection
- 5.6%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,426
StateWisconsin
- Adults with a medical collection
- 3.2%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,428
StateWyoming
- Adults with a medical collection
- 8.5%
- Median medical collection balance
- $2,381
StateUnited States
- Adults with a medical collection
- 3.2%
- Median medical collection balance
- $1,448
Urban Institute, Debt in America state file, August 2025 credit bureau data, updated November 20, 2025. Shares are of adults with a credit record; medians are among adults with medical debt in collections, rounded to the dollar. Urban says it excludes seven states whose laws restrict medical debt reporting; the seven shown as not reported are the states with no figure in its file.
Two caveats belong next to that map and table. First, low readings in Minnesota (0.3%) and Virginia (0.8%) sit alongside their own state reporting laws, so part of what the map shows there is a reporting rule, not an absence of debt. Second, the regional pattern is old and stable. The 2021 JAMA study found 23.8% of people in the South had medical debt in collections in June 2020, against 10.8% in the Northeast, and found that new medical debt fell faster in states that expanded Medicaid.
The survey picture by state looks different again. Peterson-KFF's analysis of three pooled years of SIPP data (2019 to 2021) put South Dakota highest, at 17.7% of adults reporting medical debt, followed by Mississippi (15.2%), North Carolina (13.4%), West Virginia (13.3%) and Georgia (12.7%), with Hawaii (2.3%) and the District of Columbia (2.7%) lowest. South Dakota's 17.7% in the survey and 1.1% in the credit files is the survey-versus-file gap from the top of this page, in a single state.
Who is most likely to have medical debt?
Medical debt is most common among Black adults, people with disabilities and people who were uninsured for part of the year, and middle-aged adults are more likely than young adults to carry it, according to the Peterson-KFF analysis of Census SIPP data published in February 2024. The pattern holds across the surveys, even where the levels differ.
| Group | Share with medical debt |
|---|---|
| Black adults | 13% |
| White adults | 8% |
| Asian adults | 3% |
| Adults with a disability | 13% |
| Adults without a disability | 6% |
| Uninsured for part of the year | 14% |
| Uninsured the full year | 11% |
| Insured the full year | 8% |
| Ages 50 to 64 | 10% |
| Ages 65 to 79 | 6% |
| Women | 9% |
| Men | 7% |
| In poor health, income under 400% of poverty | 22% |
| In poor health, income at or above 400% of poverty | 14% |
GroupBlack adults
- Share with medical debt
- 13%
GroupWhite adults
- Share with medical debt
- 8%
GroupAsian adults
- Share with medical debt
- 3%
GroupAdults with a disability
- Share with medical debt
- 13%
GroupAdults without a disability
- Share with medical debt
- 6%
GroupUninsured for part of the year
- Share with medical debt
- 14%
GroupUninsured the full year
- Share with medical debt
- 11%
GroupInsured the full year
- Share with medical debt
- 8%
GroupAges 50 to 64
- Share with medical debt
- 10%
GroupAges 65 to 79
- Share with medical debt
- 6%
GroupWomen
- Share with medical debt
- 9%
GroupMen
- Share with medical debt
- 7%
GroupIn poor health, income under 400% of poverty
- Share with medical debt
- 22%
GroupIn poor health, income at or above 400% of poverty
- Share with medical debt
- 14%
Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, The burden of medical debt in the United States, February 12, 2024, analysis of Census SIPP data for December 2021.
The insurance rows run against intuition. Adults who were uninsured for only part of the year were more likely to owe medical debt (14%) than those uninsured all year (11%). A gap in coverage, during which someone still sees a doctor, appears to be the dangerous case. And having insurance is far from a guarantee: 8% of adults insured all year still owed more than $250. The Commonwealth Fund found that 23% of working-age adults had coverage all year but were underinsured in 2024, meaning their out-of-pocket costs were high relative to income, and 44% of that underinsured group said they were paying off medical or dental debt.
The broader KFF Health Care Debt Survey, published in June 2022, shows the same racial gap at a higher level. Under its wide definition, 56% of Black adults and 50% of Hispanic adults reported debt from medical or dental bills, against 37% of white adults. Among adults under 65, 62% of the uninsured reported health care debt, compared with 44% of the insured.
The credit files show a much smaller gap by community. Urban's August 2025 data put the share with a medical collection at 3.6% in communities of color, Urban's term for areas where most residents are people of color, and 3.0% in majority-white areas. Credit files carry no race data, so that is a neighborhood measure, not a personal one. The CFPB also found that the consumers still carrying a medical collection after the reporting changes live in lower-income census tracts than the larger group that had one before.
Age has its own credit-file story. The CFPB found the share of older Americans with a medical collection on their credit record fell from 8.4% to 2.7% between March 2022 and June 2023, which shrank the gap between older and younger consumers on paper.
What does medical debt do to people's finances and health?
Medical debt pushes people to cut back on necessities and skip care, according to every major survey that asks. In the KFF Health Care Debt Survey, 63% of adults with health care debt said they had cut spending on food, clothing or other household basics, and 48% had used up all or most of their savings.
| Consequence | Share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cut back on food, clothing or household basics | 63% of adults with health care debt | KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022 |
| Used up all or most of their savings | 48% of adults with health care debt | KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022 |
| Contacted by a collection agency | 47% of adults with health care debt | KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022 |
| Sued by a provider | 6% of adults with health care debt | KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022 |
| Skipped some medical care because of cost in the past year | 26% of all adults | Federal Reserve SHED, May 2026 |
| Had an unexpected major medical expense in the past year | 21% of all adults | Federal Reserve SHED, May 2026 |
| Said their health got worse after skipping care because of cost | 41% of adults who skipped or delayed care | Commonwealth Fund, November 2024 |
ConsequenceCut back on food, clothing or household basics
- Share
- 63% of adults with health care debt
- Source
- KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022
ConsequenceUsed up all or most of their savings
- Share
- 48% of adults with health care debt
- Source
- KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022
ConsequenceContacted by a collection agency
- Share
- 47% of adults with health care debt
- Source
- KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022
ConsequenceSued by a provider
- Share
- 6% of adults with health care debt
- Source
- KFF Health Care Debt Survey, June 2022
ConsequenceSkipped some medical care because of cost in the past year
- Share
- 26% of all adults
- Source
- Federal Reserve SHED, May 2026
ConsequenceHad an unexpected major medical expense in the past year
- Share
- 21% of all adults
- Source
- Federal Reserve SHED, May 2026
ConsequenceSaid their health got worse after skipping care because of cost
- Share
- 41% of adults who skipped or delayed care
- Source
- Commonwealth Fund, November 2024
KFF; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; The Commonwealth Fund. Each share has its own denominator, shown in the middle column.
The Fed's 2025 survey found that skipping care is tied closely to income: 38% of adults earning under $25,000 went without some medical care because of cost, against 13% of those earning $100,000 or more. Dental care was the most frequently skipped. Among the uninsured, 45% skipped care, against 24% of the insured.
Medical debt rarely arrives alone. A household juggling a hospital balance is usually juggling a card balance and the rent too, and the order to pay them in when the money runs short is a question of its own, covered in what bills to pay first when you can't pay everything.
How often do hospitals sue patients over medical bills?
Hospital lawsuits over unpaid bills are common enough to be routine in some states. A KFF Health News review of 528 hospitals, published in December 2022, found that more than two-thirds sue patients or take other legal action against them, such as garnishing wages or placing liens on property.
The KFF Health News investigation also found that a similar share of those hospitals report patients with unpaid bills to the credit bureaus, a quarter sell patients' debts to debt collectors, and about 1 in 5 deny nonemergency care to people with outstanding debt. Nearly 40% posted no information on their websites about their collection activities.
The most detailed court-level count comes from Virginia. A 2019 JAMA study found that Virginia hospitals filed 20,054 lawsuits over unpaid bills in 2017 and pursued 9,232 wage garnishment cases.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Lawsuits filed by hospitals over unpaid bills | 20,054 |
| Wage garnishment cases | 9,232 |
| Hospitals that garnished wages | 48 of 135 (36%) |
| Share of garnishing hospitals that were nonprofit | 71% |
| Mean amount garnished per patient | $2,783.15 |
| Share of all garnishment cases filed by five hospitals | 51% (4,690 of 9,232) |
MeasureLawsuits filed by hospitals over unpaid bills
- Figure
- 20,054
MeasureWage garnishment cases
- Figure
- 9,232
MeasureHospitals that garnished wages
- Figure
- 48 of 135 (36%)
MeasureShare of garnishing hospitals that were nonprofit
- Figure
- 71%
MeasureMean amount garnished per patient
- Figure
- $2,783.15
MeasureShare of all garnishment cases filed by five hospitals
- Figure
- 51% (4,690 of 9,232)
Bruhn et al., Prevalence and Characteristics of Virginia Hospitals Suing Patients and Garnishing Wages for Unpaid Medical Bills, JAMA, published online June 25, 2019.
Two findings in that study cut against expectations. Nonprofit hospitals, which carry a tax exemption partly in exchange for community benefit, made up 71% of the hospitals that garnished wages. And the activity was concentrated: five hospitals accounted for 51% of every garnishment case in the state.
None of the national sources on this page counts hospital lawsuits directly. Studies like Virginia's are built state by state from court dockets. What the national surveys can say is that 6% of adults with health care debt told KFF in 2022 that a provider had sued them.
How much charity care do nonprofit hospitals provide?
Nonprofit hospitals spent an estimated $16 billion on charity care in 2020, while their tax exemption was worth about $28 billion that year, according to a KFF analysis published in March 2023.
Charity care, also called financial assistance, is free or discounted care for patients who can't afford their bills. Under IRS section 501(r)(6), a nonprofit hospital must make reasonable efforts to find out whether a patient qualifies for its financial assistance policy before reporting them to a credit bureau, selling their debt or suing them. The mechanics, including how to apply after a bill has already gone to collections, are in charity care and how to get hospital bills reduced or forgiven.
Who qualifies varies enormously by hospital. A Health Affairs study published in November 2024 studied 2,989 nonprofit acute care hospitals, 2,770 of which had a charity care eligibility policy available, and found that free-care income limits ranged from 41% to 600% of the federal poverty guideline, with a median of 200%.
| Measure | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated value of nonprofit hospitals' tax exemption, 2020 | About $28 billion | KFF, March 2023 |
| Charity care costs at nonprofit hospitals, 2020 | An estimated $16 billion | KFF, March 2023 |
| Nonprofit acute care hospitals studied | 2,989 (2,770 with a policy available) | Health Affairs, November 2024 |
| Range of free-care income limits | 41% to 600% of the federal poverty guideline | Health Affairs, November 2024 |
| Median free-care income limit | 200% of the federal poverty guideline | Health Affairs, November 2024 |
| Hospitals that mention the patient's assets as a factor in eligibility | 64.0% | Health Affairs, November 2024 |
MeasureEstimated value of nonprofit hospitals' tax exemption, 2020
- Figure
- About $28 billion
- Source and date
- KFF, March 2023
MeasureCharity care costs at nonprofit hospitals, 2020
- Figure
- An estimated $16 billion
- Source and date
- KFF, March 2023
MeasureNonprofit acute care hospitals studied
- Figure
- 2,989 (2,770 with a policy available)
- Source and date
- Health Affairs, November 2024
MeasureRange of free-care income limits
- Figure
- 41% to 600% of the federal poverty guideline
- Source and date
- Health Affairs, November 2024
MeasureMedian free-care income limit
- Figure
- 200% of the federal poverty guideline
- Source and date
- Health Affairs, November 2024
MeasureHospitals that mention the patient's assets as a factor in eligibility
- Figure
- 64.0%
- Source and date
- Health Affairs, November 2024
KFF, The Estimated Value of Tax Exemption for Nonprofit Hospitals Was About $28 Billion in 2020, March 14, 2023; Health Affairs, vol. 43, no. 11, November 2024.
The practical point for anyone holding a hospital bill: eligibility thresholds are often far higher than people assume. At the median hospital in that study, a household with income up to twice the poverty line qualifies for free care, and many policies reach well above that. Applying costs nothing and doesn't touch your credit.
How should you read medical debt statistics?
Medical debt statistics come from two families of data that measure different things, and most errors come from mixing them. Six rules will keep a figure honest.
Survey or credit file. The SHED, the Census SIPP, KFF and the Commonwealth Fund ask people what they owe. The CFPB, the Urban Institute and the JAMA studies count accounts that collectors reported to a credit bureau. Surveys catch payment plans, unreported bills and medical charges on credit cards. Credit files catch only what was reported, and since 2022 most medical collections aren't.
Check the threshold. KFF's 20 million counts only adults owing more than $250. The credit bureaus drop anything under $500. The KFF Health Care Debt Survey counts any amount, including debt owed to family. The same population produces nearly 1 in 12 and 41% depending on where the line sits.
Adults, households or consumers with a credit record. The Census figure is households. The SHED and KFF figures are adults. Urban and the CFPB divide by people with a credit record, which leaves out adults who have no credit file at all.
A drop in credit-file numbers is usually a reporting change. The fall from about 14% to 5% of consumers between March 2022 and June 2023 happened because the bureaus changed their policies, not because people paid their bills. The survey numbers barely moved over the same years.
Mind the vintage. The $220 billion total describes the end of 2021. The KFF Health Care Debt Survey was fielded in early 2022. The Virginia lawsuit count is from 2017. Each figure is labeled with its date on this page, so check the publisher for anything newer before quoting it.
Don't quote a rule that isn't in force. The CFPB's 2025 medical debt rule was vacated and never took effect. State bans are in force but legally contested.
To cite a figure from this page, name the primary source and its date, not this page, and check the original release; every one is linked in the sources list below. To cite the page itself: "Medical Debt in America: 2026 Statistics," Felix, September 8, 2026. This page is a roundup of public sources. Felix has not analyzed any data of its own for it.
Where does Felix fit with medical debt?
Felix negotiates unsecured debts, including medical bills that have gone to a collection agency. For each account you enroll, Felix drafts the letters to the creditor or collector, and every letter is mailed in your own name only after you've read and signed it. Nothing on this page predicts what will happen on your accounts.
The order of operations matters more with medical debt than with any other kind. Check the itemized bill against your insurer's explanation of benefits, apply for the hospital's financial assistance, and send the collector a written debt validation request before you negotiate anything; what happens when medical bills go to collections walks through that sequence. Once the balance is confirmed and assistance is off the table, the account works like any other collection, and the general playbook for negotiating a debt settlement yourself and choosing a percentage to offer applies. If several debts are involved, a debt management plan compared with settlement and bankruptcy compared with settlement set out the alternatives, and rebuilding credit after a settlement covers what comes after.
Felix does not remove accurate information from credit reports, and no one honestly can; a paid or under-$500 medical collection that shows up anyway is a dispute you can file yourself, free. Checking eligibility uses a soft credit pull that doesn't affect your score. The FAQ explains what the service does and doesn't cover, pricing is a subscription, never a percentage of what you owe, and the privacy policy sets out how your credit data is handled and when it is deleted.
Frequently asked questions
The newest federal surveys put medical debt at roughly one in six. In the Federal Reserve's 2025 SHED, 18% of adults said they owed money for their own or a family member's medical care. The Census Bureau found 16.0% of households had medical debt in 2024, with a median balance of $2,000.
The CFPB counted about $49.2 billion of medical collections on credit records in June 2023, spread across about 15 million people, down from $88 billion in June 2021. That is a lower bound. Many medical collections are never reported to a credit bureau, and KFF estimates total medical debt, reported or not, at $220 billion or more.
Some does. Since 2022 and 2023 the three nationwide credit bureaus have left off paid medical collections, unpaid ones younger than a year, and any under $500. An unpaid medical collection of $500 or more can still be reported. In August 2025, 3.2% of adults with a credit record had one, according to the Urban Institute.
No. The CFPB finalized a rule in January 2025 that would have barred medical bills from most credit reports, removing an estimated $49 billion for 15 million people. A federal court in the Eastern District of Texas vacated it on July 11, 2025, in Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB. It never took effect.
Colorado, New York, Minnesota, Virginia, California, Illinois, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are among the states with their own statutes restricting medical debt on credit reports, enacted between 2023 and 2025. Others have followed since. Their durability is contested: the CFPB said in October 2025 that the federal FCRA preempts state laws keeping medical debt off credit reports, and a federal court in Texas held a narrower Texas law preempted in August 2026.
More often than most people assume. A KFF Health News review of 528 hospitals published in December 2022 found more than two-thirds sue patients or take other legal action such as wage garnishment. In Virginia alone, hospitals filed 20,054 lawsuits over unpaid bills in 2017, according to a 2019 JAMA study.
Sources
- 01The burden of medical debt in the United States — Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 12, 2024 (SIPP data, December 2021)
- 02Health Care Debt In The U.S.: The Broad Consequences Of Medical And Dental Bills — KFF, June 16, 2022 (fielded February 25 to March 20, 2022)
- 03Wealth of Households: 2024 (P70BR-218) — U.S. Census Bureau, July 2026 (2025 SIPP, data for 2024)
- 04Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 — Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 2026
- 05New Survey: Nearly 1 of 4 Adults with Health Coverage Struggle with High Out-of-Pocket Costs (2024 Biennial Health Insurance Survey) — The Commonwealth Fund, November 21, 2024 (fielded March to June 2024)
- 06Debt in America: An Interactive Map (medical debt in collections, state data) — Urban Institute, Updated November 20, 2025; August 2025 credit bureau data
- 07Medical Debt Burden in the United States — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, March 2022
- 08Data Point: Consumer Credit and the Removal of Medical Collections from Credit Reports — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Research, April 2023
- 09Recent Changes in Medical Collections on Consumer Credit Records — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, March 2024 (data through June 2023)
- 10Medical Debt in the US, 2009-2020 — JAMA (Kluender, Mahoney, Wong, Yin), July 20, 2021
- 11Prohibition on Creditors and Consumer Reporting Agencies Concerning Medical Information (Regulation V), 90 FR 3276 — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau / Federal Register, January 14, 2025
- 12Medical information rule (Regulation V): vacatur notice — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, July 2025
- 13Fair Credit Reporting Act; Preemption of State Laws (interpretive rule) — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau / Federal Register, October 28, 2025
- 14Consumer Data Industry Association v. State of Texas, No. 1:19-CV-876-RP (W.D. Tex.), order on summary judgment — U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas via GovInfo, August 10, 2026
- 15Colorado HB23-1126, Consumer Reports Not Include Medical Debt Information — Colorado General Assembly, Signed June 5, 2023; effective August 7, 2023
- 16Illinois Public Act 103-0648 (815 ILCS 505/2EEEE, credit reporting; medical debt) — Illinois General Assembly, Effective January 1, 2025
- 17Prevalence and Characteristics of Virginia Hospitals Suing Patients and Garnishing Wages for Unpaid Medical Bills — JAMA (Bruhn, Rutkow, Wang, et al.), June 25, 2019 (2017 court data)
- 18Hundreds of Hospitals Sue Patients or Threaten Their Credit, a KHN Investigation Finds. Does Yours? — KFF Health News, December 21, 2022
- 19The Estimated Value of Tax Exemption for Nonprofit Hospitals Was About $28 Billion in 2020 — KFF, March 14, 2023
- 20US Nonprofit Hospitals Have Widely Varying Criteria To Decide Who Qualifies For Free And Discounted Charity Care — Health Affairs, via PubMed Central, November 2024
Keep reading
Medical Debt
Medical Debt and Your Credit Report: The 2026 Rules
The federal rule that would have banned medical bills from credit reports was vacated in July 2025. Here is what actually governs medical collections now.
Research & Data
Debt Collection in America: 2026 Statistics
Debt collections by the numbers: how many people have collection accounts, how big the industry is, and why most debt lawsuits end in a default judgment.
Medical Debt
Charity Care: How to Get Hospital Bills Reduced or Forgiven
Nonprofit hospitals must have a financial assistance policy and screen you before certain collection actions. How to find yours, qualify, and apply late.
More on Research & Data
2 guides