Empirical data, qualitative analysis, and case studies document the prevalence of medical debt in America. However, the influence of medical debt on credit reports and scores has not been thoroughly examined. We do know that medical payment data are not uniformly reported to consumer reporting agencies. Unlike other credit-report information, the type of entity furnishing the data often determines whether medical-bill data are used in a credit score. We also know that medical-billing errors are commonplace and that medical collections frequently involve disputes with insurance companies over liability for the accounts. Such distinctive problems⎯together with the unique conditions under which medical debt is incurred⎯raise concerns about the predictive value of medical payment data in assessing credit risk.
