The share of Americans with unpaid medical bills harming their credit files has fallen in the two years since the major credit reporting agencies changed how that debt was reported. But, even with the changes, some 15 million people still have medical bills in their credit files. The CFPB is considering a rule to ban medical debt from consumer credit files.

The bureau estimated in a 2022 report that over half the debt that appeared on credit reports as being in collection was medical debt. Yet the bureau's research suggests that medical debt is a less useful measure of a borrower's creditworthiness than other types of debt. People can incur medical bills unexpectedly, and many think that their health insurance will cover the costs. At least two states have taken steps to keep medical debt off credit reports. Last year, Colorado became the first state to bar the inclusion of medical debt on credit files, followed by New York.*

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