Like many professionals who use their hands a lot, retired Colorado teacher Janis Hammons recently had carpal tunnel surgery.
But Janis, who also had to have a ganglion cyst removed, was stunned when she later got a bill for several thousand dollars from a Denver-area hospital.
“I was shocked. I had insurance, so I was really shocked that my bill was so high. I could only do a payment plan of $60 a month – I thought, that’s going to take me forever to pay, at $60 a month.”
It turns out Janis hadn’t met her insurance deductible, so almost the entire bill was up to her. “I’d be paying this for a lifetime,” she says.
Janis says the hospital didn’t mention anything to her about the possibility of charity care. And she had to start paying for the first surgery before the hospital would schedule the second.
That was when Janis happened to see Dollar For mentioned on Facebook.
Dollar For helps patients check to see if they are eligible for charity care to reduce or eliminate hospital bills. Then, Dollar For helps them prepare and submit applications – completely free, no obligation.
After seeing the ad for Dollar For, Janis went online and read reviews from patients who have been helped by Dollar For with their hospital bills.
She began working with Dollar For in December 2022. Even with some time spent collecting the necessary documents, she was approved for charity care in January 2023. She calls it “a big weight off” her shoulders.
“I was just so thankful and happy, because I didn’t have that bill and that worry” to face any more, she says now.
“That’s taken care of, so now if something happens and I have to go to the hospital again, I won’t be refused because I didn’t pay my bill. I don’t know if they can, but I don’t want to find out.”
Janis has told a number of people to give Dollar For a try: “We all need help. My bill was small, but I know other people have major medical bills, and anything they can get help with, it can help in their recovery. You don’t want to worry about trying to recover (from surgery) and trying to pay a bill at the same time,” she adds.
“You want to know that’s taken care of.”
Big bills for surgery? See how charity care helped Jose, Marquesa, and Rochelle get free.