Bills and help
Find free help
State consumer advocates, Medicare counselors, federal advisors, nonprofits and legal aid, by coverage and state.
Do this today
- Use the tool: Find help near you Pick your state and coverage and see the regulator, the free consumer program and the Medicare counselors for you.
- Read: Help with drug costs 4 minute read. Two different problems get mixed up: your plan will not cover a drug, or you cannot afford your share. Fix the first with an exception or appeal, and look at nonprofit directories for the second.
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So you can come back to it, and keep your dates and calls in one place.
In brief
- A drug your plan denies and a drug you cannot afford are two problems. You can work on both at once.
- If the plan will not cover a drug, ask for an exception or appeal. Your prescriber has to supply the medical reasons.
- Nonprofit directories and some condition foundations list financial help for medicines. We point to them and cannot tell you what you will qualify for.
- Each assistance program sets its own rules, including how it treats your kind of coverage. Ask before you apply.
More guides, tools and letters
More guides, tools, letters 32
Guides
- Help with drug costs
Two different problems get mixed up: your plan will not cover a drug, or you cannot afford your share. Fix the first with an exception or appeal, and look at nonprofit directories for the second.
- Medicare counseling through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program
Every state has a free Medicare counseling program that is not tied to any insurance company. Here is what it does, how to reach it, and when to call 1-800-MEDICARE or a quality improvement organization instead.
- What a state consumer advocate does
Some states run or fund free consumer advocates who explain your plan, write appeals and push back on insurers. Here is what three of them do, and how to find out what your state offers.
- Where to get free help, by coverage type
The right free helper depends on who regulates your plan. Here is a map from job-based, Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid and military coverage to the people who can help at no cost.
Tools
- Tool
Find help near you
Pick your state and coverage and see the regulator, the free consumer program and the Medicare counselors for you.
Programs and services
- Program or service
1-800-MEDICARE: talk to a person about Medicare
The Medicare phone line and live chat, open all day every day. Staff can point you to the right step for a complaint, and can pass an unresolved complaint to the Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman.
From Medicare (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Program or service
American Cancer Society 24-hour helpline
A phone and chat line staffed around the clock by cancer information specialists who answer questions and connect you to services. It is an information and referral line, not an appeals service.
From American Cancer Society
- Program or service
Cancer Legal Resource Center and Cancer Justice helpline
A legal helpline and resource library for people with cancer, run by the Disability Rights Legal Center. Covers legal questions about insurance, work and money. Whether staff can take your case is not stated.
From Disability Rights Legal Center
- Program or service
Community Health Advocates (New York)
New York State's designated consumer assistance program: a free helpline and local advocates for New Yorkers with any kind of coverage, plus do-it-yourself appeal guides. Open to New York residents only.
From Community Service Society of New York
- Program or service
Connecticut Office of the Healthcare Advocate
A free Connecticut state office that helps residents understand their benefits and speaks up for them when a claim or a prior authorization request (advance approval for care) is denied. Open to people with any kind of coverage.
From State of Connecticut, Office of the Healthcare Advocate
- Program or service
Consumer Assistance Programs: state health insurance help
A federal map of state Consumer Assistance Programs that help people with health insurance problems by phone, mail, email or in person, and what to try if your state has none.
From Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Program or service
Employee Benefits Security Administration help line and Ask EBSA
Free phone and online help from federal benefits advisors for people in employer health plans. They explain your rights and possible next steps, and may help you recover benefits you are owed.
From U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
- Program or service
Health Consumer Alliance (California)
A statewide partnership of legal aid organizations offering free help by phone or in person to Californians with Medi-Cal, Covered California or private coverage, including disputing denials and billing problems.
From Health Consumer Alliance
- Program or service
LawHelp.org free legal information and legal aid finder
A site that points you to free legal information and nonprofit legal aid providers in your state. It is a starting point for finding a program; it does not appeal a denial for you.
From LawHelp.org
- Program or service
Legal Action Center free legal help in New York
Free legal help for New Yorkers with substance use disorders or mental health care needs, including insurance barriers to treatment. Nationwide help is limited to certain addiction-medication cases.
From Legal Action Center
- Program or service
Legal Services Corporation: find free legal aid
A search page that finds a civil legal aid organization near you. These organizations serve low-income people; the page does not say whether a local program takes health insurance cases.
From Legal Services Corporation
- Program or service
Legal Services Corporation: find legal aid near you
A search by address or city for civil legal aid organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation, which supports free legal help for low-income Americans, with a link to LawHelp.org for information and forms.
From Legal Services Corporation
- Program or service
Maryland Attorney General: Health Education and Advocacy Unit
A free Maryland mediation service that helps with denied coverage from private health plans, plan terminations, surprise bills, hospital financial assistance and billing disputes.
From Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, Consumer Protection Division
- Program or service
Medical Bill Rights: find an action plan for your medical bill
A five-minute federal questionnaire about your billing problem that gives you suggested next steps, whether you already have a bill or are planning for care.
From Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Program or service
Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman
A federal office that helps with Medicare complaints and information requests that your plan or 1-800-MEDICARE has not resolved. You reach it by asking a 1-800-MEDICARE representative to send it on.
From Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Program or service
Medicare Rights Center national helpline
Free phone counseling for people with Medicare, their families and caregivers on benefits, denials and appeals, and cost-saving programs. Spanish is available. It covers Medicare only.
From Medicare Rights Center
- Program or service
National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine
A free, confidential helpline for mental health information, support and resources. It does not do individual advocacy or casework, so it will not fight a denial for you. In a crisis, call or text 988.
From National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Program or service
National Association of Insurance Commissioners: find your state insurance department
A national directory where you pick your state or territory to find its insurance department, get contact details and start a complaint. Useful for plans bought from an insurance company.
From National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- Program or service
National Disability Rights Network: find your state agency
A directory of the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy agencies, one in every state and territory, that provide legal advocacy for people with disabilities, including difficulty getting disability services.
From National Disability Rights Network
- Program or service
National Organization for Rare Disorders patient assistance
Financial help for people with certain rare diseases with medicines, insurance premiums, co-pays, testing and travel, plus a patient services line. It is financial help, not an appeals service. Condition-specific.
From National Organization for Rare Disorders
- Program or service
Patient Advocate Foundation case management
Free one-on-one help from a case manager who can work on insurance denials and prior authorizations for patients with a serious or chronic condition who meet the program's rules. Intake is by phone and new cases are limited each day.
From Patient Advocate Foundation
- Program or service
Persius: denial support
An organization that says it helps people fight inappropriate coverage denials for free, using artificial intelligence (AI) with human review. It also does research on denials.
From Persius
- Program or service
Smart NC: health claim denied (North Carolina)
A North Carolina Department of Insurance program that helps consumers resolve coverage disputes with their health insurance company. The page says there is no cost for its services.
From North Carolina Department of Insurance, Smart NC
- Program or service
State Health Insurance Assistance Program locator (shiphelp.org)
The national site for finding your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which gives free, one-on-one Medicare counseling, including help with complaints and appeals.
From SHIP National Technical Assistance Center
- Program or service
Triage Cancer legal and financial navigation
Free one-on-one phone help with health insurance, disability insurance, work and money questions from a cancer-focused legal-education nonprofit. It gives information, not legal representation or financial aid.
From Triage Cancer
- Program or service
Vermont Office of the Health Care Advocate (VTLawHelp)
A free helpline for Vermonters with health care and health insurance problems, run as a project of Vermont Legal Aid. Its website also has plain-language pages on appeals, grouped by the kind of coverage you have.
From Office of the Health Care Advocate, a project of Vermont Legal Aid
- Program or service
Veterans Affairs patient advocate program
Every VA medical facility has a patient advocate who handles concerns from veterans and families. The advocate can help with a care problem and, if needed, help you file an appeal.
From U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Questions to keep handy
- What exactly was denied, and under which part of the plan?
- What is my deadline, and what is it counted from?
- Where and how do I send my request, and how will I prove it arrived?
- Who decides, and can I ask for a faster decision?
Not what you need? Find a person who can help, or search the whole site.