Los Angeles, CA.
Today. Tough lending standards after the financial crisis locked many consumers out of home and car purchases due to poor credit scores. However, there may be new hope for those with significant medical debt. FICO, the credit rating agency, will soon be more lenient for those with medical debt in collections. This means credit scores will take a smaller hit for medical debt as compared to credit card debt.
This could result in some consumer credit scores to rise about 25 points. However, the change does not take into account medical bills paid by a credit card. In fact, consumers that paid their medical bills by credit card are actually now worse off than consumers that simply left their medical bills unpaid. This may send the wrong message.
However, both medical debt and credit card debt can likely be settled by a qualified debt settlement attorney. A qualified debt settlement attorney works with the creditors for large reductions in the balance owed. In this way, paying off bills that have been settled will raise consumer credit scores and also get the consumer out of debt faster. If you have medical debt or credit card debt, contact a qualified debt settlement attorney.