How can I help a friend or relative with their medical bills?

Can I talk to the hospital or insurer for them?

Usually, yes, with their permission. A provider may share health information with a family member, a close friend or anyone the patient names. It must relate to that person's part in the patient's care or payment for care, and the patient must agree or not object when given the chance Source 11.

• Ask them to tell the billing office, ideally in writing, that you may talk about the bill. Then have the account number ready when you call.
• Ask the health plan which form it needs before it will discuss a claim with you.
• Call together when you can. They can give permission on the call.
• If they can't decide for themselves, a person with legal authority to make their health care decisions is treated as their personal representative for the health information that role needs Source 22.

How can I help them apply for financial assistance?

Help them get the papers and fill them in. A nonprofit hospital must post its financial assistance policy and application free online, hand out free paper copies and translate them for large language groups in its community Source 33. Ask for them in the language your friend or relative reads best.

1. Gather proof of income with them: pay stubs, benefit letters or a tax return, whatever the application asks for Source 44.
2. Fill in the form together and keep copies of everything you send.
3. Send it soon. The hospital must accept it for at least 240 days (IRS, published July 2, 2026).
4. Ask the hospital to pause collection while it decides Source 44.

Our financial assistance cover letter has the words, and our charity-care checker gives a quick estimate of whether a hospital must or may help.

Can I pay their bill directly, and are there tax rules?

Yes, you can pay a hospital or doctor for someone else's care. Money you pay directly to a provider of medical care, as payment for someone's care, is not treated as a gift for federal gift tax purposes (26 U.S.C. 2503(e), United States Code via GovInfo, published 2024) Talk to a tax professional if you are unsure.

If the person gets Supplemental Security Income (SSI), medical care that someone else pays for directly to the provider is not income for SSI, while a gift of money to them can count as income Source 66.

Before you pay:

• Check the bill and ask for an itemized bill. Our guide to the itemized medical bill shows what to look for.
• Make sure financial assistance was applied, or that they applied.
• Ask for a discount for paying in one amount. Our guide on how to negotiate a medical bill covers what to say.
• Get a receipt with the patient's name and account number.

Should I sign as the responsible party or co-sign a plan?

Think hard first. A guarantor is the person responsible for paying a bill. If a hospital form names you as the responsible party or guarantor, or you co-sign a payment plan, you may be agreeing to pay the bill yourself if they don't.

• Read every form before you sign and ask the hospital what signing means.
• Sign only for what you are ready to pay. You can help with calls and paperwork without signing as the guarantor.
• Keep a copy of anything you sign.

How can I help when a collector calls?

Help them answer it, because the collector deals with them. A debt collector generally may not discuss someone's debt with other people. It can with the person's consent, given directly to the collector, and in a few other cases. A spouse, the parent of a minor, a guardian and an estate's executor or administrator count as the person for these rules Source 77.

• Help them read the collector's notice and dispute the debt in writing if something is wrong. A written dispute sent within 30 days (CFPB, published January 29, 2024) pauses collection of the amount in dispute until the collector answers Source 88. Our debt validation letter has the words.
• Help them ask the collector to stop contacting them. If they write to say so, the collector must stop, except to say it is ending its efforts or that it may take a specific step, such as a lawsuit Source 99. A letter like that does not stop a lawsuit.
• If they get court papers, help them find legal aid right away and answer by the deadline. Our guide on what happens if you can't pay a medical bill explains the steps.

Can I donate to cancel their specific bill?

No. A medical debt relief charity can't pay one person's bill, and The Medical Bill can't take requests to cancel a specific bill.

The ways to help one person are the ones above: help them apply for financial assistance, check and negotiate the bill, or pay the provider directly for their care.