re: Medical Debt Should Not Ever Be Used to Harm Credit Worthiness

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This. Hospitals are more than willing to negotiate payment plans. The only way it's going to ding your credit is if you refuse to pay the money you owe.

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Pretty much this. And you don’t have to break the bank to keep it off your credit report. It only hits if they have to send it to collections. As a general rule, as long as you are paying something toward the debt on a regular basis, they will not report it. My dad ended up with a $9K bill for an emergency surgery and 2 week stay in the hospital. He set up his bank to send them $20 a month in perpetuity and they’ve never given him so much as a phone call about it.