Medical debt is the leading source of collections on American credit reports — affecting an estimated 100 million people. Most don’t know that the hospital treating them is legally required to have a program that can reduce or eliminate the bill. Here’s every resource, with the contact information you actually need.
An estimated 100 million Americans carry some form of medical debt. JAMA research found that 73.7% of patients who dispute a medical bill receive a correction or reduction. The CFPB found that up to 49% of medical bills contain at least one billing error. These aren’t niche findings — they describe the normal experience. Here are the honest answers to what people search for most.
1 The hospital is asking me to pay a huge bill I cannot afford. Is there anything I can actually do? Yes — and the first step costs nothing. Call the billing department and ask to apply for the hospital’s Financial Assistance Policy. Every nonprofit hospital is legally required to have one. Many can reduce your bill by 50–100% if you qualify. ▼
2 My bill is already in collections. Is it too late to apply for charity care? No — it’s not too late. Nonprofit hospitals must accept charity care applications even after billing goes to collections, and you can request the account be recalled while your application is reviewed. Apply now, not later. ▼
3 I have insurance, but the out-of-pocket costs are still overwhelming. Does any of this help me? Yes — several programs specifically serve insured patients who can’t afford co-pays, deductibles, or coinsurance. Patient Advocate Foundation’s TotalAssist, HealthWell Foundation, and disease-specific co-pay programs are designed exactly for this situation. ▼
4 Can medical debt damage my credit score, and can I do anything to prevent it? The three credit bureaus voluntarily agreed not to report paid medical collections or medical debt under $500. Unpaid medical debt must wait at least 12 months before it can appear on your report — giving you time to apply for assistance before your credit is affected. ▼
5 I’m a senior on Medicare and my prescription drug costs are crushing me. What’s the most important program to know about? Medicare Extra Help (also called Low-Income Subsidy). SSA estimates it has an average annual value of $5,700 per person. Apply free at ssa.gov/extrahelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. If you qualify for Medicaid, you already qualify automatically. ▼
6 I don’t have any health insurance. Where can I get medical care without a massive bill? Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) — 14,000 locations across all 50 states — charge on a sliding fee scale based on income. Many charge $0 for patients below the poverty line. Find one at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov or call 1-877-464-4772. ▼
7 I’m looking at a hospital bill and I’m sure some of the charges are wrong. What are my rights? You have the right to an itemized bill — request it in writing. Federal law gives you 30 days to dispute items in a debt validation letter. JAMA research found 73.7% of patients who formally dispute a bill receive a correction. Many billing errors are significant. ▼
8 Can I negotiate my hospital bill down myself, or do I need to hire someone? You can do it yourself, for free. Ask the billing department three questions: (1) Can I apply for financial assistance? (2) What is the cash-pay or self-pay rate? (3) Can we set up an interest-free payment plan? The self-pay rate alone is often 40–60% below the billed amount. ▼
Before calling any external organization, call the hospital that billed you. Every nonprofit hospital is legally required to have a charity care program. Most people who qualify never apply because no one tells them to ask.
Every nonprofit hospital in the U.S. — approximately 57% of all hospitals — must maintain a written Financial Assistance Policy under IRS Section 501(r). For a family of four, free care is typically available at incomes below $66,000 (200% FPL), and sliding-scale discounts extend to $132,000 or higher at many large medical centers. The hospital must accept your application, process it, and cannot send your account to collections during the review. Call the billing or financial counseling department and say: “I’d like to apply for your Financial Assistance Policy.” Request that all collections activity be frozen while you apply.
Several states require charity care from all hospitals — including for-profit hospitals — beyond what federal law mandates. The CFPB identifies California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington as states with protections that apply to all hospitals. Colorado, Massachusetts, and South Carolina have state-run financial assistance programs. If your hospital is for-profit and claims it has no assistance program, check whether your state law requires one. Your state insurance commissioner’s office can confirm your state’s requirements and help if a hospital is not complying.
Every hospital has a financial counseling or patient advocacy office — and most have social workers on staff who know every assistance program, internal fund, and community resource available. These are the people who navigate this landscape daily and know which applications move fastest. Before you leave the hospital — or as soon as you receive a bill you can’t pay — ask to speak with a hospital social worker or financial counselor. They can initiate charity care applications, connect you with Medicaid enrollment, identify disease-specific grants, and advocate with billing on your behalf. This service costs nothing.
In 1946, Congress passed a law requiring hospitals that received federal construction grants to provide free or reduced-cost care to patients who cannot afford it. Those obligations remain legally binding. As of 2024, 126 facilities across the country carry active Hill-Burton obligations — free care for those at or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines, reduced-cost care for those up to twice the guideline (triple for nursing homes). To find a Hill-Burton facility near you, call HRSA at 1-800-400-2742 or visit hrsa.gov/get-health-care/affordable/hill-burton. You apply at the admissions or billing office of the Hill-Burton facility directly.
The No Surprises Act, in effect since 2022, bans balance billing in three situations: emergency care at any facility, non-emergency care at in-network facilities by out-of-network providers, and air ambulance transport from in-network plans. If you received emergency care and are being billed more than your plan’s in-network cost-sharing rate by an out-of-network provider, this is illegal and you can dispute it. File a complaint through the federal No Surprises Help Desk at 1-800-985-3059 or at cms.gov/nosurprises. This applies to a large share of what historically went to collections.
In most states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, adults with household incomes at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level qualify. For 2026, that is roughly $20,783/year for a single adult. What most people don’t know: Medicaid can cover medical expenses retroactively for up to three months before the application date in many states. If you had a large hospital bill three months ago and apply for Medicaid today, the coverage may apply to that bill — eliminating or dramatically reducing what you owe. Apply at your state’s Medicaid website, through HealthCare.gov, or call 1-800-318-2596.
Several federal programs can dramatically reduce ongoing medical costs — and most people who qualify don’t know they’re eligible. Many of these have no cost to apply, take under 30 minutes, and can save thousands of dollars per year.
The single most valuable program for Medicare beneficiaries struggling with prescription drug costs. SSA estimates Extra Help has an average annual value of $5,700 per person. In 2026, qualifying beneficiaries pay no more than $5.10 for generics and $12.65 for brand-name drugs. Income limit is $23,475 for individuals and $31,725 for married couples (150% FPL). If you receive Medicaid, SSI, or are in a Medicare Savings Program, you automatically qualify — call Social Security to confirm your enrollment status. Apply free online at ssa.gov/extrahelp, by phone, or in person at any Social Security office.
Medicare Savings Programs are state Medicaid programs that help with Medicare Part A and B premiums, deductibles, and co-insurance costs — not just prescription drugs. Four levels exist: Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), Qualifying Individual (QI), and Qualified Disabled and Working Individual (QDWI). QMB enrollment means providers cannot bill you for Medicare cost-sharing at all — not even a copay. Apply through your state Medicaid office. If you’re unsure whether you qualify, call the Medicare helpline at 1-800-633-4227.
If you don’t have employer-sponsored insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid, the ACA Marketplace may offer subsidized coverage — with premium tax credits available to households earning up to 400% FPL (and in some years, beyond). A large medical bill or job loss often qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period outside the standard open enrollment window. Apply at HealthCare.gov or call the federal helpline — navigators are available free to walk you through the process in your language. Enrolling in coverage prevents future bills; applying for Medicaid retroactivity addresses past ones.
Benefits.gov is the official federal portal for finding which government assistance programs you qualify for. Answer a few questions about your household size, income, age, and health situation and the tool shows which programs may apply — including Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, SNAP, LIHEAP, and more than 1,000 other federal programs. Many people find programs they didn’t know existed. The screener takes about five minutes and has no impact on your eligibility or any application process. It is purely informational and free.
Dial 2-1-1 from any phone, free, in any state. Operators have real-time access to local emergency financial assistance programs, hospital charity care navigators, prescription assistance networks, and community health centers that don’t appear in national databases. Tell the operator: “I have a medical bill I cannot pay — what local programs can help?” The 211 database is updated weekly by local social service agencies and often surfaces programs that no web search finds. Available 24/7 in most states; live assistance available in many languages.
CHIP provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance. Benefits include doctor visits, prescriptions, dental and vision care, hospital stays, and mental health services. Eligibility varies by state, but most states cover children in families earning up to 200–300% of the Federal Poverty Level. If a child in your household has outstanding medical bills and no coverage, applying for CHIP may retroactively address those bills in some states. Apply at insurekidsnow.gov or call 1-877-543-7669.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers operate patient assistance programs that provide their drugs free or at minimal cost to patients who cannot afford them. NeedyMeds and RxAssist maintain searchable databases of every program available, organized by drug name.
NeedyMeds is a nonprofit that maintains the most comprehensive free database of patient assistance programs (PAPs) in the country — organized by drug name so you can search for your specific medication and see every program available. Also lists free clinics, community health centers, discount drug cards, and state pharmaceutical assistance programs. Search by the brand name or generic name of your drug and find direct contact information for every available program. No income threshold to search — each individual PAP has its own eligibility criteria that you’ll find in the database. Completely free to use, no sign-up required.
RxAssist is a comprehensive directory of pharmaceutical company patient assistance programs, searchable by drug manufacturer, brand name, generic name, or drug class. It was created specifically to help physicians and advocates connect patients with free medications through manufacturer programs. If your doctor’s office is unfamiliar with patient assistance programs, share this resource with them — physicians can often initiate PAP applications faster than patients applying independently, and many manufacturers require or prefer physician-initiated applications.
GoodRx is not a patient assistance program — it is a discount negotiation service that consistently offers prices below what insurance plans charge for many generic drugs. There is no income requirement, no application, and no sign-up necessary for the basic card. Show the GoodRx coupon at any major pharmacy and pay the discounted cash price. For many common generics, the GoodRx price is lower than most insurance plan copays — it is often worth checking before filling a prescription regardless of your coverage status. The basic GoodRx card is free at goodrx.com.
PPARX connects patients to public and private programs offering free and low-cost prescription drugs. Fill out a brief online survey about your household and medications, and the system identifies every patient assistance program you may qualify for — including multiple medications at once rather than requiring a separate search for each drug. Available in English and Spanish. Trained specialists are available by phone to help navigate the results.
Many states operate their own pharmaceutical assistance programs that go beyond what Medicare Extra Help covers — providing additional help with premiums, copays, and drugs not on the Part D formulary. These programs are entirely state-funded and have their own eligibility rules separate from federal programs. To find your state’s program, search “[your state] pharmaceutical assistance program” or call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — available free in every state and staffed by counselors who know the full landscape of local drug assistance options. Find your SHIP at shiphelp.org or call 1-800-633-4227.
Having insurance is not the same as being able to afford care. Co-pay assistance foundations were built for the insured patient facing thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs despite having coverage.
In March 2026, Patient Advocate Foundation and the PAN Foundation completed a strategic merger, creating TotalAssist — described as the nation’s most comprehensive charitable patient financial assistance program. Covers nearly 150 serious and chronic conditions including cancer, chronic illness, and rare diseases. Provides copay grants, insurance premium assistance, and out-of-pocket cost coverage. Each grant is offered for a 12-month period. The unified program went live July 1, 2026. Apply at totalassist.org or call the unified call center. Previous PAF copay assistance (copays.org) is also incorporated.
HealthWell Foundation has awarded over $5.2 billion in financial assistance to more than 1.3 million patients since 2003, making it one of the largest co-pay assistance foundations in the country. Covers coinsurance, copayments, health care premiums, deductibles, pediatric treatment costs, and travel expenses for diagnosis-specific funds. Also helps patients who are eligible for health insurance but cannot afford the premium — a gap many other programs don’t address. Uses a four-star Charity Navigator rating. Check healthwellfoundation.org for open disease funds.
CancerCare’s Co-Payment Assistance Foundation helps people with cancer overcome financial access and treatment barriers specifically by assisting with copayments for prescribed treatments. Separate from CancerCare’s general financial assistance program, this foundation pays copays directly so treatment is not delayed by inability to pay. CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers can also refer you to additional resources and provide free counseling to navigate financial assistance. Call or visit their website to check which cancer-specific funds are currently open.
LLS provides co-payment assistance, health care premium assistance, and limited financial help for non-medical expenses to patients with blood cancers — including leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and related disorders. The program includes an Information Specialist Call Center staffed with trained professionals who can walk through eligibility and application in detail. Also provides free financial assistance to uninsured patients not covered by other programs. Check lls.org/copay for current fund availability.
Good Days provides financial assistance to patients living with chronic and life-altering diseases who cannot afford the out-of-pocket costs of treatment. Covers copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and in some cases insurance premiums, for diagnosis-specific disease funds. Check mygooddays.org for currently open funds matching your diagnosis. Applications are disease-specific — if your fund is closed, sign up to be notified when it reopens. Staff can help identify alternative programs while your fund is closed.
Over 14,000 federally qualified health center sites operate across all 50 states. They see everyone — insured or not — and charge based on what you can actually pay.
FQHCs are federally funded community health centers that provide comprehensive primary care, dental, mental health, substance use services, and pharmacy to anyone who walks in — regardless of insurance status, immigration documents, or ability to pay. Fees are on a sliding scale based on income; patients at or near the poverty level often pay $0. In 2026, more than 1,400 FQHC organizations operate roughly 14,000 service delivery sites. Find the nearest FQHC by entering your address at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov or by calling HRSA directly. Always call ahead to confirm new patient availability and hours.
More than 1,400 free and charitable clinics operate across the U.S., staffed primarily by volunteer physicians and healthcare professionals. Unlike FQHCs, these clinics typically do not bill insurance at all and provide care entirely at no charge, funded by donations and volunteer labor. Services vary by clinic but often include primary care, some specialty care, labs, and prescriptions. Find clinics near you through the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics at nafcclinics.org or through your county health department.
Remote Area Medical began serving rural Appalachia and now operates free multi-day health events across the country, providing dental, vision, hearing, and primary care at no cost. These events are open to anyone in financial need and often serve hundreds of patients over a weekend. Services include dental extractions and fillings, eye exams and glasses, hearing tests, and general health screenings. Events are announced 6–8 weeks in advance at ramusa.org — sign up for email alerts if you want to be notified when an event is scheduled near you. No income verification is required at the event site.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration maintains a free locator of mental health and substance use treatment facilities near you, filterable by sliding-scale or free payment options, accepted insurance, and services offered. Many community mental health centers operate on the same sliding-scale model as FQHCs. If cost has been a barrier to mental health care, use this locator to find programs accepting income-based fees. The SAMHSA helpline is also free, confidential, and staffed 24/7.
Many major diagnoses have dedicated foundations providing financial assistance beyond what general programs offer. If you have a specific diagnosis, always search for disease-specific assistance — these programs often cover costs that general charity care programs cannot.
CFAC is a group of organizations dedicated to helping cancer patients manage their financial challenges. Their searchable database at cancerfac.org connects patients to financial assistance programs based on their specific cancer type, location, and financial situation. Member organizations include CancerCare, the American Cancer Society, the National Patient Advocate Foundation, and dozens more. Rather than contacting each organization individually, CFAC is the fastest starting point for cancer-specific financial assistance — one search surfaces programs across the entire coalition. Free to use, no account required.
NORD helps patients with rare diseases obtain medication they could not otherwise afford, as well as assistance with insurance premiums and copays. Their Patient Assistance Programs cover hundreds of rare diseases and conditions. The NORD Assistance Program provides financial support to patients based on medical and financial need for disease-specific programs. If your diagnosis is rare or uncommon, NORD may be the only national organization specifically addressing your financial assistance needs. Search by disease name at rarediseases.org.
NeedyMeds maintains a database of disease-specific assistance programs organized by condition — covering heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, and hundreds of other diagnoses. Each listing includes eligibility requirements, contact information, and whether the program is currently accepting applications. Before contacting any general assistance program, search needymeds.org for your specific diagnosis — disease-specific programs often cover more and have higher income limits than general programs because they are funded by condition-focused donors. Many also cover non-prescription costs like transportation and equipment.
Every major disease foundation maintains a patient services or financial assistance program. The fastest path is always calling the foundation’s main line and asking: “Do you have financial assistance programs for patients, and can you refer me to someone who can help?” Key contacts for common conditions are listed in the pill row below. Ask specifically about financial assistance — not just about the disease — as these programs are often under-promoted by the foundations themselves and require a direct inquiry to access.
- Maintain a written Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) and make it publicly available — including a plain-language summary.
- Widely publicize the FAP — in the facility, on the website, and in patient billing communications.
- Take reasonable steps to determine charity care eligibility before taking any extraordinary collection action — including sending to collections, reporting to credit bureaus, or filing a lawsuit.
- Cap charges to FAP-eligible patients at the “amounts generally billed” to insured patients — meaning they cannot charge uninsured patients the full undiscounted chargemaster rate.
After you receive your first bill from a nonprofit hospital, most are required to wait at least 120 days before initiating extraordinary collection actions — including reporting to credit bureaus or referring to collections. This window is when charity care applications should be submitted, insurance disputes resolved, and Medicaid eligibility determined. Do not let this window pass without taking at least one of these steps. Once a collection action begins, the process becomes more difficult — though not impossible — to reverse.
The three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — voluntarily agreed to: remove paid medical collections regardless of amount, remove unpaid medical collections under $500, and wait 12 months (up from 6) before reporting unpaid collections. These voluntary changes remain fully in effect. If a paid medical collection or a collection under $500 is still showing on your report, you can dispute it directly with each bureau. File complaints at consumerfinance.gov if bureaus don’t respond appropriately.
Contact the hospital billing department directly — not the collections agency. Ask them to recall the account while you apply for the Financial Assistance Policy. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you have 30 days from the first debt collector contact to dispute the debt in writing — during which all collection activity must cease. Send your dispute by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have documentation of delivery. State the debt is in dispute and request written validation. If the hospital sent the account to collections without proper notice under Section 501(r), you may have grounds to dispute the entire collection action. Contact a nonprofit legal aid organization for free help — search lsc.gov or lawhelp.org for your nearest legal aid office.
Bookmark this section or screenshot it. These are the phone numbers and websites you actually need, organized so you can find what you need in 30 seconds.
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| # | Program | Phone | Website | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hospital Charity Care (FAP) | Hospital billing | Ask for Financial Assistance Policy | All income levels · required by law |
| 2 | State Charity Care Laws | State ins. commissioner | consumerfinance.gov/medical-bills | For-profit hospital states |
| 3 | Hospital Social Worker | Request at nurses’ desk | — | Fastest internal path |
| 4 | Hill-Burton Program | 1-800-400-2742 | hrsa.gov/hill-burton | 126 obligated facilities |
| 5 | No Surprises Act | 1-800-985-3059 | cms.gov/nosurprises | Emergency billing disputes |
| 6 | Medicaid | 1-800-318-2596 | healthcare.gov | Free coverage · retroactive |
| 7 | Medicare Extra Help | 1-800-772-1213 | ssa.gov/extrahelp | $5,700/yr avg Rx savings |
| 8 | Medicare Savings Programs | 1-800-633-4227 | medicare.gov | Part A & B cost-sharing |
| 9 | ACA Marketplace | 1-800-318-2596 | healthcare.gov | Subsidized insurance |
| 10 | Benefits.gov Screener | — | benefits.gov | Find all programs you qualify for |
| 11 | 211 Helpline | Dial 2-1-1 | 211.org | Local referrals · 24/7 |
| 12 | CHIP | 1-877-543-7669 | insurekidsnow.gov | Children’s coverage |
| 13 | NeedyMeds | 1-800-503-6897 | needymeds.org | Free drug programs database |
| 14 | RxAssist | — | rxassist.org | Manufacturer PAP directory |
| 15 | GoodRx | — | goodrx.com | Prescription discount · no income test |
| 16 | PPARX | 1-888-477-2669 | pparx.org | Multiple drugs · one search |
| 17 | SHIP (State Rx Programs) | 1-800-633-4227 | shiphelp.org | State-specific Rx help |
| 18 | Patient Advocate Foundation TotalAssist | 1-866-512-3861 | totalassist.org | 150 conditions · copay + premium |
| 19 | HealthWell Foundation | 1-800-675-8416 | healthwellfoundation.org | Copays · deductibles · premiums |
| 20 | CancerCare Co-pay Foundation | 866-552-6729 | cancercarecopay.org | Cancer copayments |
| 21 | Leukemia & Lymphoma Society | 1-877-557-2672 | lls.org/copay | Blood cancers · co-pay + premium |
| 22 | Good Days | 1-877-968-7233 | mygooddays.org | Chronic disease co-pay |
| 23 | FQHC / Health Centers | 1-877-464-4772 | findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov | Sliding-scale care · 14,000 sites |
| 24 | Free Clinics (NAFC) | 703-647-7427 | nafcclinics.org | Free care · volunteer staffed |
| 25 | Remote Area Medical | 865-579-1530 | ramusa.org | Dental · vision · hearing events |
| 26 | SAMHSA | 1-800-662-4357 | findtreatment.gov | Mental health · sliding scale |
| 27 | Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition | — | cancerfac.org | Cancer-specific search |
| 28 | NORD | 1-800-999-6673 | rarediseases.org | Rare diseases |
| 29 | NeedyMeds (by condition) | 1-800-503-6897 | needymeds.org | Diagnosis-specific search |
| 30 | Disease Foundations (ACS etc.) | See pills in program | See program card above | Major disease foundations |
Call the hospital billing department and use these exact words: “I’d like to apply for your Financial Assistance Policy.” Ask them to freeze all collection activity while the application is reviewed. While you wait for the FAP application to process, apply for Medicaid at healthcare.gov — if you qualify, it may retroactively cover the bill. Also call 2-1-1 and ask for local assistance navigators who can help you complete both applications. If the bill has errors (request an itemized statement to check), dispute those errors in writing to the billing department simultaneously.
Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 and ask about Medicare Extra Help. SSA estimates the average annual value is $5,700 per person. If you receive Medicaid, SSI, or are in a Medicare Savings Program, you should already be enrolled automatically — call to confirm. Also contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) at 1-800-633-4227 for free one-on-one counseling on state-specific drug programs. For specific medications, search needymeds.org by drug name to find manufacturer patient assistance programs that provide your medication free or at minimal cost.
Three calls in order: CancerCare at 1-800-813-4673 (their oncology social workers know every relevant program and provide free counseling), Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition at cancerfac.org (search by your specific cancer type for a comprehensive list), and Patient Advocate Foundation TotalAssist at 1-866-512-3861 (covers copays, premiums, and out-of-pocket costs for over 20 cancer types). Also ask your oncologist’s office specifically whether they have a patient navigator or financial counselor on staff — most major cancer centers do, and these professionals know the local landscape of hospital assistance, drug programs, and foundation grants better than any outside source.
Start with the Medicare Extra Help application at ssa.gov/extrahelp or call 1-800-772-1213 — if your income is near or below 150% FPL, this program alone can save thousands per year. Then call your nearest FQHC (findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov) — they see Medicare patients and often charge less than private practices. If you have unpaid hospital bills, call the hospital billing department and apply for charity care — income thresholds are specifically designed to include fixed-income seniors. The Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 (Monday–Friday, 9am–8pm Eastern) connects you to county-level programs not findable online, including local prescription assistance and bill-pay programs for seniors.
It is not too late. Contact the hospital billing department directly — not the collections agency — and ask them to recall the account while you submit a Financial Assistance Policy application. Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to accept applications even after billing goes to collections. Ask that all interest and fees be frozen during the review period. If the hospital refuses to recall the account or claims they have no FAP, ask for their IRS Form 990 Schedule H — this public document must disclose their charity care spending and confirms whether they are a nonprofit. You can also file a complaint with the IRS at irs.gov if a nonprofit hospital fails to comply with Section 501(r).
Your primary resource is the FQHC system — enter your address at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov and you’ll see every sliding-scale community health center near you. These are your permanent primary care option, not just an emergency measure. For emergency care, you also have EMTALA rights — any Medicare-participating hospital with an emergency department must screen and stabilize you regardless of ability to pay or insurance status. After an ER visit at a nonprofit hospital, immediately apply for their Financial Assistance Policy and apply for Medicaid simultaneously — Medicaid may retroactively cover up to three months of prior bills in most states, potentially including the ER visit you just had.
This is an independent informational guide and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any government agency or organization listed. Program eligibility, phone numbers, income thresholds, fund availability, and application processes change frequently — always verify directly with each organization before making any decisions. This content is created independently and is not legal or financial advice. For disputes involving medical debt or collection violations, consult a nonprofit legal aid organization. This guide does not reproduce material from any third-party source.