A medical bill went to collections. What are my rights, and what should I do?

How do I check that the debt is real and the amount is right?

Make the collector prove it before you pay anything. Federal debt collection rules cover collection agencies, debt buyers and collection law firms; a hospital billing office collecting its own bills in its own name is generally not covered by them, though state law may apply Source 11.

1. Read the validation notice. A collector must give you the details of the debt in its first message or within 5 days (CFPB, published January 29, 2024) after it, including how to dispute it and the last day of your dispute period Source 22.
2. Compare it with your own papers. Check the provider's name, the date of service, the amount, whether your insurance paid its share and whether you applied for financial assistance.
3. Dispute it in writing if anything is wrong or unclear. If you dispute in writing within the dispute period, the collector must pause collecting the disputed amount until it answers. That period is 30 days (CFPB, published January 29, 2024). Our debt validation letter has the words.
4. Keep copies of everything you send and receive, and send letters in a way that gives you proof of mailing.

You can still go back to the hospital. A nonprofit hospital must accept financial assistance applications for a long time after the first bill, and many accept later ones Source 33. If you qualify, it must refund what you paid above what you owe and take reasonable steps to undo collection actions Source 33. If a nonprofit hospital sold the debt without it counting as an extraordinary collection action, the buyer's contract must let the debt go back to the hospital if you qualify Source 33.

How often can a collector call me?

A collector is presumed to break the rules if it calls you about one debt more often than a weekly limit, or calls again within a week after a phone conversation with you about that debt Source 44. The weekly limit on calls about one debt is 7 (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2) (Cornell LII), published 2026).

Write down the date and time of every call, and the name the caller gives. You can also tell the collector in writing to stop contacting you (see below).

Can a collector report the debt before contacting me?

No. Before reporting a debt to a credit bureau, a collector must speak to you, or send you a notice and wait a reasonable time to see whether it came back undelivered Source 55.

The credit bureaus also follow their own policy on medical debt: paid medical collections are left off, an unpaid one must wait a year before it can appear Source 66, and small ones are left off Source 66. That policy is voluntary, so larger unpaid medical collections more than a year old can still be reported in states without a law of their own Source 77. A collection can stay on a report for at most 7 years (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4), (c)(1) (Cornell LII), published 2026). Our guide to medical debt and your credit report explains how to check and dispute it.

Can a collector add interest or fees?

It depends on your state and on what you agreed to, so ask the collector to show how it got to the amount it wants.

• Debt sold by a nonprofit hospital. If the hospital sold it without it counting as an extraordinary collection action, the buyer's contract must cap interest at the IRS underpayment rate Source 33.
• States that cap interest on medical debt. Arizona (A.R.S. 44-1201), Colorado (SB 23-093), New Jersey (P.L.2024, c.48) and Rhode Island, for newer debt only (R.I. Gen. Laws 6-26-11), cap the interest on medical debt.
• Virginia limits interest and late fees that large health care facilities and medical debt buyers may charge (Medical Debt Protection Act).
• Nevada caps the collection or attorney's fee a collection agency may charge on medical debt, as a share of the debt (NRS chapter 649).

Interest caps often apply only to debt from after the law took effect, so check the date of your care against the law.

Can a collector take my wages, bank account or home?

Usually not without first suing you and winning a court judgment. If you get court papers, answer them by the deadline they give; our guide on being sued for medical debt explains how. Even after a judgment, federal law protects part of what you have:

• Wages. For ordinary debts such as medical bills, a garnishment may take no more than a set share of your weekly disposable earnings, and less if your pay is low. The share is 25% (US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #30 (Consumer Credit Protection Act Title III), published December 2024). Weekly disposable earnings up to a set amount can't be garnished at all. That amount is $217.50 (US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #30 (Consumer Credit Protection Act Title III), published December 2024). Your employer may not fire you because your wages are garnished for one debt Source 99.
• Federal benefits in your bank account. When a bank gets a garnishment order, it must protect the Social Security, veterans', federal retirement or railroad retirement benefits deposited directly into the account in the two months before it reviews the account, without you having to claim them Source 1010.

Nonprofit hospitals must wait before liens, lawsuits and garnishments, which count as extraordinary collection actions Source 33. The wait after the first bill is at least 120 days (IRS, published July 2, 2026).

Some states protect more:

• New York. When a hospital or a licensed health professional sues over medical debt, it may not put a lien on your primary residence or garnish your wages for that judgment (CPLR 5201).
• New Jersey. Medical creditors and collectors may not garnish the wages of patients with incomes below a set level (P.L.2024, c.48).
• Rhode Island. No execution against your principal residence and no wage garnishment for a judgment on medical debt (P.L. 2025, ch. 300).
• Maine. Medical debt collectors may not put a lien on your principal residence or garnish your wages, as the Governor's office describes the new law (Office of the Governor).
• Maryland. A judgment for medical debt may not be used to put a lien on your primary residence, as the state regulator describes the law (Maryland Office of Financial Regulation).

Check the date each law took effect, and ask legal aid whether it covers your debt.

Is sending my bill to a collector a HIPAA violation?

Generally, no. The HIPAA privacy rule lets a provider use and share your health information for its own payment activities without your permission, and payment includes billing, collection and giving credit bureaus limited details about you and your payment history Source 1111.

What a collector may not do is discuss your debt with most other people. It generally may talk about it only with you, your attorney, the creditor, a credit bureau where the law allows and its own attorney, with narrow exceptions such as finding where you live or your direct consent Source 1212.

Can I tell a collector to stop contacting me?

Yes. If you tell a collector in writing that you refuse to pay the debt or want it to stop contacting you, it must stop communicating with you about that debt. It may still contact you to say it is ending its efforts, or that it or the creditor may take a specific step, such as a lawsuit Source 1313.

Before you send that letter, know what it does not do. The debt still exists, and the creditor can still sue you. If you think the debt is wrong, dispute it first. If it is old, read our guide on the statute of limitations: a payment or a promise to pay can restart the time limit in some states Source 1414.

If the bill belonged to someone who has died, read who pays medical bills after someone dies.

Where can I complain?

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) takes complaints about debt collectors and credit reports at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or 1-855-411-2372 Source 1515.
• Your state attorney general's consumer protection office is another place to report a collector.
• The hospital itself, if it is a nonprofit hospital and you think it did not follow its own financial assistance policy. Ask for the policy and for how to raise a complaint.

If you are sued, contact legal aid right away: find a program in your state at LawHelp.org.