Depends. In NY, CA, VA, RI, CO medical debt can't be put on your credit report. If you get to the point where you're overwhelmed with all debt- I'd say $30k+ for most people, smartest thing to do would be to debtmaxxx all your unsecured lines and then stop paying. Never file bankruptcy, never respond to creditors. It will literally go away with your inaction after a few years. I got out of over $120k with this method about 2 years ago and my credit score has already started rising from 480 to 550 (was 700 before). I'd imagine next year I'll be able to get credit cards again.