Seven years maximum. In reality it falls off before then in most cases. Also I bet it’s not that hard to dispute the non-debt with credit bureaus, because your argument could be, “I never agreed to pay that,” and the argument just ends dead in the water there.
I’m talking going for more than just that, though. These hospitals are impugning people’s character, in formal complaints, based on bullshit, as a method of extorting them. I can’t think of a more libelous thing, personally.