How to Find Financial Help With Medical Bills
Unless you are among the privileged few, as you battle through the uncertainty of a serious medical diagnosis and treatment, you will certainly have to battle through paying medical bills. If your diagnosis requires a long period of treatment or even lifelong treatment, just keeping up with the medical bills can threaten your financial survival. Although you may have greater concerns, finding financial help for your bills sooner than later can benefit your treatment and recovery. Financial assistance can be found in both public and private sources.
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Instructions
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Go to the website of MedlinePlus as the starting point for finding information on financial help to pay your medical bills. MedlinePlus is a service of The National Library of Medicine, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information, including financial assistance information, from various government agencies and private health-related organizations.
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Apply for Medicaid, especially if you have lost your job or have become underemployed and are not receiving employer-sponsored medical benefits. The federal government establishes general guidelines for the Medicaid program that are generally based on income; however, each state makes its own rules. You won't know if you qualify under your state's rules if you do not apply.
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Apply for Medicare if you are 65 or older; even if you are under 65 you can qualify for Medicare if you suffer from disabilities such as permanent kidney failure or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).
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Contact the Social Security office nearest you to determine if you qualify for a "compassionate allowance." If you have a medical condition that obviously meets disability standards, Social Security has an obligation to provide benefits to you quickly without the usual waiting period. Social Security currently lists 50 medical conditions that qualify for compassionate allowance, which can be found on its website.
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Research the financial assistance available from private organizations that were established to address the needs associated with a particular medical condition, such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, National Eye Institute or Amputee Coalition of America.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't be your own "gatekeeper" by assuming you do not qualify for assistance from a government or private program that is designed to assist with health care cost. Apply for all available programs. Even if you are initially rejected, you will learn what factors you may be able to address to qualify for the assistance you need.
