Can patients DIY advocacy?

Every year, patients are billed and stuck with $14 billion in medical debt that should be wiped out under existing hospital financial assistance rules. This debt isn’t inevitable, it’s unnecessary! Given the fact that medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy and a huge source of stress for families, is it a step too far to say that there is a medical debt crisis in America? We don’t think so and our guest today is doing something about it. Jared Walker is the founder of DollarFor, an organization helping people crush hospital bills they don’t legally owe. Since 2012, DollarFor has helped eliminate more than $125 million in medical debt nationwide. Some of the topics covered today:

• The unnecessary strain of medical bills that many are not obligated to pay
• Simply letting others know about “charity care” could drastically help their situation
• Taking your time to negotiate bc medical bills don’t impact your credit score for a year
• Hospitals often do not inform patients about available financial assistance programs
• Medical debt impacting personal possibilities and economic progress
• Avoiding products like Care Credit which sound nice but are just credit cards in disguise
• And much more!

Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances:

• Dollar For: You must check out the resources and tools at DollarFor.org if you are staring down a medical bill because there’s a good chance you can get it waived! Health Care Bluebook was also mentioned but be sure and look into Jared’s organization.
• Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending.
• Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey.
• Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical.
• Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group!

And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.