Medical Bill Negotiation Tips

Medical Bill Negotiation

THINKING ABOut NEGOTIATING MEDICAL DEBT?

Medical bill negotiation is one effective way to reduce medical debt. This page provides tips and resources on how to lower hospital bills through negotiation.

However, before negotiating that medical bill, make sure you have to pay it! Many patients don’t realize they may qualify for hospital financial assistance programs, also known as charity care. Nonprofit hospitals in the US are required to give free or reduced-cost care to lower and middle-income patients. You might be eligible for hospital financial assistance. Learn more about charity care here.

Dollar For believes a medical crisis shouldn’t become a financial crisis. We are a national nonprofit that helps patients apply for hospital debt forgiveness and eliminate medical bill–for free. Dollar For can check if your bill qualifies for debt forgiveness and help you submit an application to your hospital.

Our services are completely free–no strings attached. Learn what to expect when you get help from Dollar For.

OTHER RESOURCES TO HELP NEGOTIATE YOUR HOSPITAL BILL

If you don’t qualify for financial assistance, you can still lower your hospital bill with the help of a negotiation service.

Goodbill, our partner service, negotiates hospital bills for patients — whether you’re insured or uninsured. They’re experts in medical billing processes and patient rights, and have saved patients up to 95% on their hospital bills.

It’s risk-free and requires no upfront payment: Goodbill charges a percentage of savings, so it’s completely free unless they save you money.

Note: Goodbill is a for-profit company. Dollar For refers patients to Goodbill only in situations where we are not able to help patients with financial assistance. We believe their service is a reasonable, risk-free, lower-cost option to help patients crush medical bills.

MORE NEGOTiatioN ResourceS

If you don’t qualify for Dollar For or Goodbill’s services, or have a slightly more complicated case, try these options:

Greater National Advocates offers a database of Independent Patient Advocates you can hire to help you navigate your situation. They can help you identify and maximize health insurance coverage and benefits; get insurance approval for a procedure, therapy, or prescribed medication; challenge excessive charges or inflated medical bills; or figure out the type of insurance to get and the best time to sign up. Find a local independent patient advocate now.
Patients Rising helps connect patients to the services they need. They will listen with care and compassion to your needs and help you find an organization that specializes in addressing your specific concern, give you websites and phone numbers to key problem-solving agencies, and share solutions that were proven to help others. Call 800-685-2654 or check out their online resource hub now.
Money Management International can help you with non-medical bills. They can offer advice and educational materials to help you build a positive credit history. Call 866-290-3158 or visit them online today.
The US Government has a lot of different programs to help lower-income people pay for health care. Check if you qualify for government programs like Medicaid, Medicare, or low-cost health insurance here.

USE OUR TIPS TO NEGOTIATE YOUR MEDICAL BILL ON YOUR OWN

In 2022, Dollar For built and ran a pilot program to learn everything we could about negotiating hospital bills. While we no longer offer this service, we have built a library of tips we learned along the way. Check out our tips and advice on how you can work to lower your hospital bill.