Hospitals Check Your Loan History

Your borrowing background is always important to lenders. Now hospitals are also looking into your credit reports before they look into your body. They want to know if you're likely to pay the bill.

This isn't terribly surprising: insurance companies, employers, and others have been using credit scores and credit reports for years. It's just a continuation of a trend.

What does this mean to you? Here's another reason to make sure that your credit is in good shape. It'll help you get a loan, and it will help in other areas too. [via WSJ Your Money Matters podcast (MP3 file)].

Further reading:

• How Credit Bureaus Work
• How Credit Scores Work