Medical debt and credit reports in Illinois

Illinois law bans medical debt from credit reports.

Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.

The rule in Illinois

Full ban

A credit bureau may not make a credit report that contains adverse information it knows or should know is about medical debt or a collection action for medical debt, and may not keep information about your medical debt in your file. Debt on a general credit card or general loan is not covered; a medical credit card or loan that can only be used for health care is covered.

Who the rule covers: Credit bureaus (consumer reporting agencies) only

In effect since: January 1, 2025

It covers both paid and unpaid debt.

Law: 815 ILCS 505/2EEEE

State bans and federal law

In January 2025 the CFPB issued a rule to keep most medical debt off credit reports. On July 11, 2025 a federal court in Texas vacated (cancelled) that rule at the joint request of the CFPB and the plaintiffs. The rule is not in effect.
On October 28, 2025 the CFPB published its view that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act generally overrides (preempts) state laws that keep categories of information such as medical debt off credit reports. The CFPB also said its guidance is not binding and that courts decide these questions.
On August 10, 2026 a federal court in Texas declared that a Texas law barring credit bureaus from reporting certain out-of-network medical debt is preempted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and barred the state from enforcing it. That ruling is about the Texas law; laws in other states are decided case by case.

Law: Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB, No. 4:25-cv-16 (E.D. Tex. July 11, 2025); CFPB; CFPB interpretive rule, Fair Credit Reporting Act; Preemption of State Laws, 90 FR 48710 (Oct. 28, 2025); Consumer Data Industry Ass'n v. Texas, No. 1:19-CV-876-RP (W.D. Tex. Aug. 10, 2026)

Other limits on collection in Illinois

Waiting rules: Before a hospital or its agent may send an uninsured patient's bill to a collection agency or law firm, it must screen you, apply any discount you qualify for, and give you a chance to check the bill, apply for financial assistance and get a reasonable payment plan. You must have had at least 90 days after discharge or outpatient care to apply for financial assistance when you may qualify. For insured patients, the hospital must offer you a chance to ask for a reasonable payment plan, open for 90 days after the first bill, before sending the bill to collections. If you ask for a plan but no plan is agreed within 90 days of your request, the hospital may proceed. To keep these protections, you must give requested information within 30 days and tell the hospital within 30 days about a major change in your finances.
Liens on your home: Starting January 1, 2027, a judgment for unpaid medical debt cannot create a lien on the home that is your primary residence, and a hospital that sues you for medical debt may not file for or get a lien on your primary residence.
Wage garnishment: General Illinois limit (stricter than federal): a wage deduction order can take no more than the lesser of 15% of your gross weekly wages or the amount of weekly disposable earnings above 45 times the federal or Illinois minimum hourly wage, whichever wage is higher.
Lawsuit rules: A collection agency, law firm or person may not sue you over a hospital bill without written approval from an authorized hospital employee who believes the conditions for collection were met. A hospital may not sue an uninsured patient who has clearly shown not having enough income or assets to pay and who cooperated with the hospital. A hospital may not bill an uninsured patient whose screening shows income low enough for free care. Collection agencies and law firms working for hospitals must agree in writing to follow these rules.

Law: 210 ILCS 88/30, 88/35, 88/40, 88/45; 735 ILCS 5/12-101, 5/12-803

Is my debt too old in Illinois?

Kind of agreement	Time limit to sue
Written contract	10 years
Oral (spoken) agreement	5 years

A lawsuit on a written contract or other written evidence of debt must be filed within 10 years. A lawsuit on an unwritten contract, express or implied, must be filed within 5 years. Illinois law has no separate time limit named for open accounts.

What can restart the clock

For written debts, a payment or new promise to pay made in writing starts a new 10-year period from that date.

Law: 735 ILCS 5/13-205, 5/13-206

A time limit to sue can differ by kind of agreement, and when it starts and what restarts it can differ; a court decides.

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Where to complain in Illinois

Hospital bills and financial assistance: Illinois Attorney General, Health Care Bureau · 1-877-305-5145
A hospital did not give you a required discount, did not screen you, billed you wrongly or sent your bill to collections without following the Fair Patient Billing Act.
Health insurance: Illinois Department of Insurance, Office of Consumer Health Insurance · 1-877-527-9431
Problems with a state-regulated health insurance plan or HMO, including surprise bills and denials.
Debt collectors: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)
A licensed collection agency broke state collection rules.
Attorney general: Illinois Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division · 1-800-386-5438
Other consumer complaints, including credit reporting of medical debt.

Questions about medical bills in Illinois

Can medical debt be reported to credit bureaus in Illinois?

Illinois law bans medical debt from credit reports. A credit bureau may not make a credit report that contains adverse information it knows or should know is about medical debt or a collection action for medical debt, and may not keep information about your medical debt in your file.

How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Illinois?

A lawsuit on a written contract or other written evidence of debt must be filed within 10 years. A lawsuit on an unwritten contract, express or implied, must be filed within 5 years.

Nearby states

National rules that apply in every state

Nonprofit hospitals (federal rules)

Each nonprofit hospital must have a written financial assistance policy (FAP).

Law: 26 U.S.C. 501(r)(4); 26 CFR 1.501(r)-4

Before any ECA, the hospital must tell you about financial assistance and wait at least 120 days from the first bill sent after you left the hospital.

Law: 26 CFR 1.501(r)-6(c)(3)

You can apply for at least 240 days from the first bill sent after you left the hospital.

Law: 26 CFR 1.501(r)-1(b)(3)

If you apply during the application period, even with an incomplete application, the hospital and its collectors must stop starting or continuing ECAs until the hospital decides, or until you fail to send requested information within a reasonable time.

Law: 26 CFR 1.501(r)-6(c)(8)

Once you are found eligible, the hospital cannot charge you more than the amounts generally billed (AGB) to people with insurance for emergency or other medically necessary care, and must charge less than its full gross charges for other covered care.

Law: 26 U.S.C. 501(r)(5); 26 CFR 1.501(r)-5

Surprise bills (No Surprises Act)

With most private health plans (job-based plans, Marketplace and other individual plans), you are protected from surprise out-of-network bills for emergency care, for non-emergency care at an in-network hospital, hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgical center, and for air ambulance services.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 300gg-111, 300gg-131, 300gg-132, 300gg-135

For protected services, you can't be charged more than your in-network cost-sharing (copay, coinsurance, deductible).

Law: 42 U.S.C. 300gg-131, 300gg-132

Ground ambulance services are generally not covered by these federal protections, unless a state law has different rules.

Law: CMS, Know your rights when using insurance

If you don't have insurance or won't use it, providers and facilities must usually give you a written good faith estimate.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 300gg-136; 45 CFR 149.610

If one provider's or facility's bill is at least $400 more than its good faith estimate, you can use the federal patient-provider dispute resolution process.

Law: 45 CFR 149.620(a)(2)(ii), (c)(1)

Credit reports

A collection account generally cannot be reported for more than 7 years.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4), (c)(1)

For a veteran's medical debt (care authorized by the VA from a non-VA provider, or a bill the VA charged in error), nationwide credit bureaus may not report it until 1 year after the care, and may not report it once it is fully paid or settled, when they know it is a veteran's medical debt.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(7), (8); 15 U.S.C. 1681a

If a medical debt on your credit report is wrong, you can dispute it with the credit bureau for free.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)

Debt collectors

A debt collector must give you validation information about the debt, including the amount and how to dispute it.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.34

If you dispute the debt in writing within the validation period, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it sends you verification of the debt.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.38(c), (d)(2)

A debt collector must not sue or threaten to sue you on a time-barred debt, meaning a debt whose statute of limitations has run out.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.26(b)

Itemized bills and price lists

Your medical and billing records kept by a health care provider are part of your 'designated record set'.

Law: 45 CFR 164.501 (designated record set); 45 CFR 164.524(b)(2)

If Medicare paid for an item or service, you can ask the provider in writing for an itemized statement.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1395b-7(b)

Every hospital must post online a machine-readable file of all its standard charges, and a consumer-friendly list of at least 300 shoppable services (or an online price estimator tool).

Law: 45 CFR 180.40, 180.50, 180.60

Medicaid and Medicare

If you qualify for Medicaid, it can pay for covered care you got up to 3 months before the month you applied, if you were eligible then.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(34), 1396d(a); Pub. L. 119-21, sec. 71112 (July 4, 2025)

If you are in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, Medicare providers may not bill you for Medicare deductibles, coinsurance or copays for Medicare-covered care.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396a(n)(3)(B); CMS

If your health plan denies a claim

You must file an internal appeal within 180 days (6 months) of the notice that your claim was denied.

Law: 45 CFR 147.136(b); HealthCare.gov

After a final denial, you can ask for an external review by an independent reviewer within 4 months.

Law: 45 CFR 147.136(c), (d); HealthCare.gov

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