What the New York law does
The Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act, signed in December 2023 and effective December 13, 2023, added a section to New York’s public health law. It bars hospitals, health care professionals licensed in the state and ambulance services from furnishing medical debt to a consumer reporting agency. It requires their contracts with collection agencies and buyers of medical debt to include the same prohibition. And it declares that any medical debt reported in violation of the law is void, meaning the debt itself, not only the report.
“Medical debt” is defined broadly: any amount related to receiving health care services, products or devices from a covered provider. It excludes debt charged to a general-purpose credit card, though a card issued specifically for medical payments is still covered.
Why a collector may say the law does not apply
The federal picture moved after New York acted. In January 2025 the federal consumer bureau finalized a rule barring medical debt from credit reports nationwide. On July 11, 2025 a federal district court in Texas vacated that rule, and its opinion said that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts state laws restricting what may appear on a credit report. In October 2025 the bureau issued an interpretive rule adopting that position.
Neither action struck down New York’s statute. The state law remains enforceable by the state unless and until a court says otherwise in a case that binds it. But a national collection agency now has a legal argument that it may report anyway, and some do. The practical consequence: the law is a strong basis for a dispute, not a guarantee that nothing will ever appear.
The bureaus’ voluntary rules
Independently of any statute, the three national credit bureaus changed how they handle medical collections in 2022 and 2023:
| Rule | Effect |
|---|---|
| Paid medical collections are removed | Once paid, a medical collection should not remain on the report |
| Medical collections under $500 are not reported | Applies to unpaid accounts |
| One-year waiting period | A new medical collection cannot appear until it is a year old |
These are policies, not laws, and they can change. They are also the reason many people with medical debt find nothing on their report, which is not the same as the debt being gone.
What to do, in order
1. Pull all three reports. Free through the federally mandated site, and worth doing once a year regardless. Look for any account whose furnisher is a hospital, a physician group, an ambulance company or a collection agency, and note the original creditor and the amount.
2. Match it to the bill. Compare the reported amount to what you were billed and to any financial assistance decision. If the account was reduced or cleared under a hospital’s program, the report should reflect that.
3. Dispute in writing, twice. Once with the bureau and once with the furnisher. State the account, the date of service, and the ground: that New York’s Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act bars reporting of this debt, that the debt is disputed and a financial assistance application is pending, or that the amount is wrong. Attach copies. Keep your own.
4. If the furnisher is a New York hospital or provider, complain to the state. The Attorney General’s health care helpline, 1-800-428-9071, takes complaints about hospital billing and collection practices.
5. Do not pay to make it disappear. Paying an entry you dispute does not fix a wrong amount, and moving the balance to a credit card converts it into ordinary debt that no medical debt law protects.
Where this connects to the rest of the process
A credit report entry is a symptom. The account behind it is still subject to the hospital financial assistance law up to 400% of the poverty level, still subject to the three-year time limit on lawsuits, and still cannot be collected by wage garnishment or a lien on your home. Every New York protection, with dates is the reference; what to send a collector first is the procedure.
Questions people ask
Is medical debt allowed on credit reports in New York?
Under state law, no, for debt owed to New York hospitals, licensed providers and ambulance services since December 13, 2023. Federal court rulings in 2025 have clouded enforcement, so check your report rather than assuming.
Will a medical bill hurt my credit score?
Not through the bureaus’ own rules if it is under $500, paid, or less than a year old, and not at all if the New York law is honored. Larger, older, unpaid accounts reported by a collector that ignores the law can appear, which is why the dispute steps matter.
Does applying for hospital financial assistance affect credit?
No. Applying is not a credit event, and while an application is pending the hospital may not send the account to collections.
The hospital says the collector, not the hospital, reported it. Does that matter?
The law requires the hospital’s contract with the collector to forbid reporting. A report by the collector is a violation to raise with both, and with the Attorney General.
Sources
- New York State Senate — S.4907A, Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act (checked 2026-09-07)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — medical information rule (Regulation V) and subsequent court action (checked 2026-09-07)
- Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice — court overturns federal medical debt credit reporting rule (July 2025) (checked 2026-09-07)
This page explains how the system works. It is not medical advice. More.