Credit Question

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Hey all,

About a month and a half ago I pulled up my credit report on Equifax (my first time ever checking my credit). I noticed I had something in the "Collections" section that's been buggin me and I'm not sure what to do about it. Apparantly I never paid a $65 bill to the hospital. I'm not sure what it's even for as it is from 2000 and I hardly ever go to the doctor (I'm guessing it might have to do with a broken wrist around that time). But the status still says "unpaid".

Anyways, since this bill is 6 years old, I'm assuming it will soon be wiped from my record, within a year (7 years is the max right?). Should I bother to get in touch with this collection agency to pay the bill... or at this point would it not even matter. I'd hate to have this measily $65 dollars mess up my score. Would paying it this late help anything?

I have also heard that you can dispute this sort of thing and if the hospital (or whatever) dosen't cough up the info it gets erased from my history... Any info on this?

Basically, in a nutshell... what should I do about a collection on my credit report that is 6 years old? :)