Credit score for medical bills coming soon

[Dale_M]

Mortgage lenders aren't the only ones showing more interest in your credit score these days - the health industry is creating its own score to judge your ability to pay.
The new medFICO score, being designed with the help of credit industry giant Fair Isaac Corp., could debut as early as this summer in some hospitals.

The score is already raising questions from consumer advocacy groups that fear it will be checked before patients are treated. People with low medical credit scores could receive lower-quality care than those with a healthy medFICO, they argue.

That will not happen, says Stephen Farber, chairman and chief executive of Healthcare Analytics. Hospitals will check the score, which will be based on the patient's medical bill payment history, only after the patient is discharged, he said.

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_8015982

[turtle18]

I don't think this is right at all.....if you get behind on your mortgage or credit card bills it is pretty much a case of you didn't pay it.
BUT with medical bills it is so much different. There are SOOOOOOOOOO many mistakes in medical billing. When you put the incompetent people at the dr.'s office together with the incompetent people at the insurance company, you are bound to get charged for things you don't owe. One of my many cases in point---I once has an anesthesiologist charge me $900 when I didn't owe her anything. The insurace company filed it out of network when she was in network and refused to pay the bill. It took me months to get it straightened out. That is one of about 20 instances I have had like that.

[turtle18]

But then again, if it keeps your real credit separate from your medical credit, it could actually help you on your "real" credit score. Having worked at a bank, I know they are very lenient with medical debts on your credit record, where just about anything else will disqualify you for a loan, they will often overlook medical debt.

[whatevergirl]

I don't have any medical debts, but didn't know that they go against your credit score?

[goofyjim]

So if someone is behind on medical bills they get refused treatment and possibly die. Yeah sounds fair.

[JimG]

Originally Posted by whatevergirl

I don't have any medical debts, but didn't know that they go against your credit score?

From what I recall of credit reports, unpaid medical bills get reported to credit reporting agencies. In the old days, creditors would make an individual judgment; now everybody just wants to see one number--the FICO score. And I'm not sure how medical debt gets factored in to FICO. Fair Isaac Co. is tight lipped about how their scores are figured.