Letters and scripts for medical bills.

Ask the hospital for every charge, line by line, before you pay. The letter also asks for your billing records and the financial assistance policy, so you can check the bill properly.

Send this letter on top of your hospital's financial assistance application. It names every account you want covered, lists the papers you included and asks the hospital to pause collections and answer in writing.

Tell the hospital in writing that you cannot pay, and ask it to reduce or write off the bill. The letter asks for a financial assistance review first, then a lower balance or a plan you can keep.

If a collection agency or debt buyer contacts you about a medical bill, dispute it in writing and ask for proof. Sent within the dispute period, the letter pauses collection of the disputed amount until the collector answers.

Call the billing office with this script in front of you. It takes you through the order that works: check the charges, ask for financial assistance, ask for a discount, then make an offer and get it in writing.

If a medical collection on your credit report looks wrong, dispute it in writing with each credit bureau that shows it. The bureau must look into it for free, and correct or delete anything inaccurate, incomplete or impossible to verify.

When someone dies, tell each hospital and doctor in writing. This letter reports the death, names who handles the estate and asks that bills go to the estate, not to family members, without promising to pay them.

Offer a collector one payment to close a medical debt, and get the deal in writing before you send any money. The collector does not have to accept, and two risks come first: a payment can restart the time limit to sue in some states, and a settled balance may be reported as cancelled debt.