<prompt> Human: So about a year ago I took a spill on my bike and had to get stitches and ended up with a 700 bill. I was hurting for money at the time and a relative gave me some bad advice that I could ignore the bill and due to medical privacy laws they couldnt report it to a credit agency. Boy, were they wrong and now Ive got this collection showing up on my credit report. My question is whether it is possible to get it removed from the credit report entirely, and if not - is it even worth it to pay it off or should I just let it run its course? I do have the funds to pay it off right now, but obviously Id rather keep the 700 in my pocket if paying off the debt wont do my score any good. Thanks in advance!  <response>: I think you already know the answer, and that is to pay your bill. You owe it, you know you owe it, and now its in collections. Its on your credit report. Its affecting your credit.Pay your bill. 