Question about $350 medical bill to be sent to collections 1/20

Submitted by bunny___bear t3_zz7cuf in personalfinance

I have a $350 medical bill which will be sent to collections on 1/20/23. I was laid off from my job a few months back, and cannot afford this.

I found this: "As of July 1, 2022, paid medical collection debt won’t appear on consumer credit reports. In the past, this debt could have stayed on credit reports for up to seven years." Source. 

I would appreciate any advice to help protect my credit from taking a hit. If I do not pay this bill, given the source above, would it affect my credit score? If it will affect my score, I'll pay $10/mo to avoid it from going to collections.

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Tegguy t1_j29w4sx wrote

So let me make sure I'm understanding the question.... You're asking if you don't pay this bill of it it'll effect your credit score? If it will then you'll opt to pay it but if it won't you'll just ignore it?

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sonnyfab t1_j29w0ih wrote

I would guess that if you don't pay, the dermatologist would be within their rights to undo the $950 decrease in the amount you owe. Then the $1300 bill will be reported to the credit agencies and will ruin your credit.

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bunny___bear OP t1_j29xauc wrote

I didn't think about this.. that would be terrible. Thanks for your insight!

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CircaSixty8 t1_j29v8dd wrote

All those details are unnecessary. Just pay the bill. $350 is not a ton of money. And if you break it down into $30 payments you'll have it taken care of in 10 months and change.

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TurtlesBeSlow t1_j29y6u9 wrote

You do not appear to be disputing charges. So since you indeed owe the bill and you say you can send $10 a month, why not do the right thing and pay it?

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bunny___bear OP t1_j29zyc5 wrote

I have been disputing it for a while now. My question is whether my credit score be affected.

There are factors on why I would rather not pay this office in particular that I won't get into.

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WasteProfession8948 t1_j2a1f9m wrote

The key word is PAID medical debt. Unpaid medical debt will still show on your credit report. Once you pay it off it will no longer show on your credit report.

But you do have to pay it for it to be removed.

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bunny___bear OP t1_j2a1mk6 wrote

It says bills <$500 won’t show at all.

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WasteProfession8948 t1_j2a4itf wrote

No, it says starting in 2023 but not when in 2023. This CNBC article says "Starting in the first half of 2023."

So depends on your confidence on when in the first half of 2023 that will happen.

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