Organizations that help pay medical bills

Where to start

Start with the hospital or provider that sent the bill. Its financial assistance can lower or cancel the bill itself, while most other organizations help with part of your costs or help you ask. Every nonprofit hospital must have a financial assistance policy for emergency and medically necessary care Source 11. Most US community hospitals are nonprofits. Their share is 58% (American Hospital Association, Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals 2026, FY2024).

We checked each organization below on its own website on the date shown in the sources. We are not connected to any of them, and a listing is not a recommendation. Programs change, so confirm the details with the organization before you rely on them.

We are not on this list ourselves. The Medical Bill raises money to buy medical debt in bulk and cancel it, so we can't take requests to cancel a specific bill.

At a glance

Hospital financial assistance

This is the help most likely to reduce the bill itself. Ask the billing office for the policy and the application, even if the bill is already old or with a collector. Our guide to charity care explains who qualifies and how to apply, step by step.

Public programs

• Medicaid. You can apply any time of year, through your state Medicaid office or HealthCare.gov. If you have recent bills, ask your state Medicaid office whether it can cover them. If you had Medicaid when you got care, a provider that takes Medicaid generally may not bill you beyond your allowed copay Source 44.
• Medicare Savings Programs. Your state runs these programs. One of them, the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, also covers Medicare deductibles, coinsurance and copays, and providers may not bill people in it for that cost-sharing Source 55. Medicare.gov says to apply even if you think you won't qualify. Apply through your state Medicaid office.
• State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP). Each state has one. Counselors give one-on-one help with Medicare questions at no cost. Find yours at shiphelp.org.
• Community health centers. What you pay depends on your income, and you can get care there without insurance. Find one through HealthCare.gov.

Nonprofit patient funds and helpers

• Patient Advocate Foundation. It has merged with the PAN Foundation. It offers case management, where a case manager helps with problems such as insurance denials and medical bills. Start at uniting.patientadvocate.org.
• Disease funds. Funds that pay part of your costs, such as HealthWell Foundation's, are listed with what each asks for in our guide to grants for medical bills.
• Dollar For. Free help preparing and sending an application for hospital financial assistance. It works on hospital bills only, with or without insurance, and you don't need to be a US citizen. Start at dollarfor.org.

Disease-specific funds open and close as their money comes and goes. If a fund is closed, ask to be told when it reopens, and keep asking the hospital about its own assistance in the meantime.

Free advice and local help

• 211. Call 211 or visit 211.org to reach a local service that connects people with help such as utility bills and health care costs. Calls are confidential.
• LawHelp.org. If you are sued over a medical bill, find free legal aid in your state at LawHelp.org, and answer the court by the deadline on the papers.

Be careful with paid "debt relief"

You should never have to pay to apply for hospital financial assistance or Medicaid. Be wary of companies that ask for a fee up front to reduce or cancel medical debt, and never give card numbers or bank details to anyone who says you must pay to receive relief.