Find a patient advocate
Patient advocates can help you navigate the healthcare system. Advocates ask questions, write down information, and speak up for you. They help you get the care and resources you need.
Do an online search for an advocate that fits your needs.
Find a patient advocate online. You can search for an advocacy group that helps with medical bills in your state or for a particular disease or condition you have.
Contact your hospital’s patient advocate.
Many hospitals have patient advocates on staff. They can help you:
- Understand your bill
- Apply for financial assistance
- Access medical records
Call your hospital and ask if they have a patient advocate on staff.
Or you can search online for a patient advocate or patient representative in the hospital where you received care.
Reach out to the Patient Advocate Foundation.
The Foundation is a nonprofit organization. It helps people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses get and pay for care.
Call 800-532-5274 or visit the Foundation’s website for more information.
If you get care at a VA health care facility, talk to the patient advocate on staff.
The VA’s Patient Advocacy Program helps veterans and their families who get care at VA health care facilities.
Each VA Medical Center has a web page. The page lists contact information for that Center's patient advocate.
Find your medical center’s website on VA.gov
Avoid scammers
Don’t pay a person or a service who promises to keep medical bills off your credit report or to protect you from unexpected out-of-network medical costs. Steer clear of people who want to charge you an upfront fee for resolving your debt and credit situation. Reputable credit counselors are clear about their services and fees and avoid pressuring you.
Learn about credit repair scams on ConsumerFinance.gov
Note: This document contains links to non-United States Government websites. We are providing these links because they contain additional information relevant to the topic(s) discussed in this document or that otherwise may be useful to the reader. We cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided on the cited third-party websites or any other linked third-party site. We are providing these links for reference only; linking to a non-United States Government website does not constitute an endorsement by CMS, HHS, or any of their employees of the sponsors or the information and/or any products presented on the website. Also, please be aware that the privacy protections generally provided by United States Government websites do not apply to third-party sites.
