Resources for Help With Medical Debt

After dealing with a major medical event, patients often face high medical debts from which they need to recover. Even those who have health insurance can end up with large amounts of medical debt, as insurance plans only cover a certain percentage of the cost of treatment. Resources that provide assistance for medical debt can help ease the burden of mounting medical bills.

Clinics and Hospitals

Private clinics and hospitals often have a patient assistance program to help make medical bills more manageable. A medical office would rather receive an adjusted payment from a patient than no payment at all. By calling a medical provider's billing office, you can either arrange to have a medical bill reduced or set up an interest-free payment plan. To have a medical bill reduced, a patient must submit proof of his household income. The medical billing office will then adjust the amount due based on the income information provided. If the patient is ineligible for a reduced medical bill or the reduced amount is still high, he can set up a payment plan wherein he pays an agreed-upon amount every month.

Disease-Specific Organizations

Individuals with rare or serious conditions may be able to receive co-pay and medical debt assistance through disease-specific organizations. For example, an individual diagnosed with leukemia can apply to receive co-payment assistance or help with medical debts through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A patient can learn more about disease-specific organizations that help with medical debts by speaking with a patient case manager at her hospital or her doctor's staff.

Government Insurance Programs

If a patient has little to no income, she can apply to receive health insurance through the state Medicaid program. If the patient is eligible for Medicaid, her coverage may begin retroactive up to three months prior to acceptance. This means the Medicaid program could help pay for medical expenses that accumulated three months prior to the patient's acceptance into the health insurance program. If an individual has a severe and marked disabling condition that has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least 12 months, he may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments. A patient can use the monthly SSDI benefits to help pay for his medical debt.

Benevolence Charities

Churches, particularly larger ones, have benevolence programs that assist members of the congregation and community. An individual with medical debt should not hesitate to ask the pastor of the church she attends about such a program. If her church does not have a benevolence program, the pastor can refer her to a church that does. If an individual does not attend church, she can still try to access benevolence funds by talking to the churches in her community.