Plain-English guides to medical bills
Short, practical guides for people with Medicare and the families who help them.
What to Do When a Medical Bill Goes to Collections
What to do when a medical bill goes to collections: check the debt, use your 30-day dispute window, ask about financial assistance, and know your rights.
Medical Debt and Credit Reports: The Current Rules (2026)
Where medical debt on credit reports stands in 2026: the CFPB rule was vacated, what the credit bureaus still exclude, and how to dispute errors.
Hospital Financial Assistance (Charity Care) for Seniors on Medicare
How hospital financial assistance works for people with Medicare, what nonprofit hospitals must offer under IRS rules, and how to apply.
What to Keep: A Simple Filing System for Medical Bills and Medicare Notices
A simple way to file medical bills, Medicare Summary Notices, and EOBs so you can match them up, catch errors, and find what you need fast.
Medical Bill Payment Plans: How to Ask for One and What to Watch For
How to ask a provider for a payment plan, questions to ask first, and why the CFPB warns about medical credit cards and deferred interest offers.
Interest and Late Fees on Medical Bills: What to Check
Why a medical bill may show interest or late fees, what to check first, how to ask to have them removed, and your rights when a debt collector adds fees.
Hospital Price Transparency Tools: How to Look Up Prices Before Care
How to use hospital price transparency rules and Medicare's Procedure Price Lookup tool to estimate costs before a planned test or procedure.
Good Faith Estimates: Who Gets Them, Why People With Medicare Usually Don't, and How Disputes Work
Who gets a Good Faith Estimate, why people with Medicare aren't eligible, and how uninsured or self-pay patients can dispute a bill $400 or more over it.