A recent Reddit thread on r/HealthInsurance opens with a blunt question: “There’s no more credit reporting on medical debt of any amount since January 2025. Why should I pay any medical bills anymore?”

Several others echo the sentiment, questioning why they should pay at all once bills hit collections.

Patients delaying or avoiding medical bills isn’t new, but the impact is becoming harder for providers to absorb as patient balances make up a larger share of revenue – and incentives to pay grow weaker.

With credit-reporting agencies no longer tracking most medical debt, sites like Reddit are brimming with advice on how to dodge collections. Those conversations are now being vocalized by generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, which recycle the same advice back to users seeking answ

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