Viral TikTok Video Highlights Hospital Medical Bill Debt Forgiveness Rule

In a viral TikTok video shared over the weekend, Dollar For founder and CEO Jared Walker shared steps that low-income people can take to reduce their medical bills. In his TikTok, which you can watch below, Walker said that hospitals in the United States registered as nonprofits should have a charity care policy. According to Walker, most U.S. hospitals are nonprofit, which means that “if you make under a certain amount of money[,] the hospital will legally have to forgive your medical bills.”

@dollarfor##stitch with @420loveontour hospital bills are lame. Let’s take care of em! ##fyp ##legal ##medicalbills ##bills♬ original sound – Dollar For

Medical debt has long burdened people and their families, and medical debt has continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to USA Today, 20 million Americans accumulated $45 billion of medical debt in collections, roughly $2,200 per person, as of August 2020.

While many Americans qualify for medical debt forgiveness, hospitals often do not make this option visible to patients. There are different local and national organizations across the United States that can help you navigate charity care cases at hospitals, including Dollar For. If your medical bill has already been sent to collectors you can still apply for financial assistance and forgiveness.

Walker showed how to figure out if you qualify for medical debt forgiveness. First, type in the name of the hospital and financial assistance into a search engine. Second, look for the hospital’s financial assistance information and open up the financial assistance policy. In the policy, look for information about sliding scale, which will tell you what you may qualify for. You can then apply for financial assistance for the hospital to forgive all or part of your medical debt. Medical forgiveness is covered under the Affordable Care Act. 

Since sharing his viral TikTok, Walker has continued to answer questions about medical debt on TikTok. You can follow Dollar For’s TikTok for updates, and watch this video below on emergency room bills.

@dollarforReply to @__karby I hope this helps!♬ original sound – Dollar For