According to the CFPB, medical bills accounted for more than half of debt collections on credit records in 2022. Patricia Kelmar from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund told USA Today that medical debt gets disputed nearly three times as often as credit card debt.

Consumer groups and the American Medical Association contend that medical debt is a poor predictor of loan repayment ability, often stemming from one-time hospital stays or billing errors.