Mitchell Jones is a 25-year-old man living in Wisconsin, who loves to hike with his two dogs, Bella and Luna. He was also looking forward to his upcoming wedding when he was hit with large hospital bills from two different hospitals after a surprise illness.
Recently graduated from college, Mitchell already had many expenses for one starting out in life: college loans, car payments, gas for long commutes, rent and groceries. Not to mention the wedding.
Though he knew the bill was coming, he was overwhelmed with how much debt he would have. Even with health insurance, he never thought he’d be in this much debt this early in life.
“It stressed me out all the time, even at work. I just couldn’t get it off my mind,” he said.
The hospitals never told Mitchell about any charity care options. Instead, one sent him to a third-party lender called Clear Balance, which just complicated the problem further. Once he was involved with the third party, he found out that made him ineligible for many assistance programs. He felt down about the rejections that were pouring in.
So Mitchell and his mom Tara went online to find better options and found Dollar For. After completing the application process, and working with Dollar For, Mitchell was approved for charity care discounts from both hospitals. He even received a refund for about half the amount he’d borrowed from the lender.
“When I opened the envelope and saw the refund check, I was so relieved. A guy with a wedding coming up can use that cash.”
Mitchell is glad to be financially stable again and able to look forward to his wedding. Because he has a chronic medical condition, he will need to return to those hospitals in the future. Now he knows he can get charity care to help with the expenses. Dollar For assured him that we would be there for him.
Mitchell’s advice to those in his situation is to go to the hospital first and make sure they tell you about charity care options. After that, go to organizations like Dollar For and get the help you need. Avoid using loans and credit cards to pay medical bills if you can. Mitchell feels strongly, as we do, that every American deserves affordable and accessible health care.
Congratulations, Mitchell!
Dollar For wants to help young people start out with less (or even no) medical debt. Read about how these people crushed their bills: Hailey, Cherlene, and Abigail.