{"version":"2026-state-of-american-medical-debt","name":"SwitchWize State of American Medical Debt","snapshotDate":"2026","citeAs":"SwitchWize, \"The State of American Medical Debt: 2026 Report.\" Retrieved 2026.","sourcePage":"https://www.switchwize.com/learn/state-of-american-medical-debt-2026","headline":{"adultsWithMedicalDebtPct":41,"onCreditReportsUsd":220000000000,"trueBurdenEstimateUsd":500000000000,"cannotCover1000BillPct":44,"hdhpHoldersWithSurpriseBillPct":50},"creditReportRules2026":{"federalBan":false,"note":"The federal rule to remove medical debt from credit reports was vacated in court. Voluntary bureau policies remain: paid collections removed, unpaid debts under $500 not reported, and debts under one year old not reported.","paidCollectionsRemoved":true,"under500NotReported":true,"underOneYearNotReported":true},"sources":[{"label":"KFF","detail":"Share of adults with medical debt and the ~$220B on credit reports.","url":"https://www.kff.org/health-costs/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/"},{"label":"Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker","detail":"The ~$500B true-burden estimate including cards, loans, and informal borrowing.","url":"https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/"}],"methodology":{"summary":"Medical debt is non-discretionary in origin and increasingly falls on the insured via high-deductible plans; over half of it is hidden after being shifted onto credit cards, loans, and family borrowing.","caveat":"The $220B is the credit-report figure; the ~$500B is an upper-range estimate, not a precise count."}}