Most hospitals and surgical centers have programs specifically designed to reduce or eliminate costs for patients who can’t afford their bills. Between hospital charity care, government insurance, payment plans, and several other options, there are concrete steps you can take to bring surgery costs down to something manageable, or in some cases, to zero.
Start With the Hospital’s Financial Assistance Program
Every nonprofit hospital in the United States is legally required to offer a financial assistance program, often called charity care. These programs can cover your surgery partially or completely depending on your income. About one in three nonprofit hospitals offer free care to patients earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level (roughly $31,000 for a single person in 2025), while many others set the bar higher. For discounted care, about 62% of nonprofit hospitals extend eligibility to patients earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level, and the remaining hospitals go even higher than that.
To apply, contact the hospital’s billing or financial counseling department before your surgery whenever possible. You’ll typically need to provide proof of income, such as recent pay stubs or tax returns, along with identification and information about your household size. The application process can take a few weeks, so starting early gives you the best chance of having an answer before your procedure date. If your surgery has already happened, you can still apply. Many hospitals accept charity care applications after the fact.
Don’t assume you earn too much to qualify. Income thresholds vary widely between hospitals, and some factor in your total medical debt or other expenses when making decisions. If one hospital denies you, another performing the same procedure may have more generous thresholds.
Check Whether You Qualify for Medicaid
Medicaid covers surgical procedures for people who meet income requirements, which vary by state. In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level generally qualify. Even if you didn’t have Medicaid when your surgery was scheduled or performed, the program can cover bills retroactively for up to 90 days before your application date, as long as you were eligible during that period. This means applying after surgery can still help.
If you don’t qualify for Medicaid, check whether your state has other programs for people who fall in the coverage gap. Many states run separate assistance programs for specific populations, including pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, and those facing catastrophic medical costs. Your hospital’s financial counselor can often point you toward the right program.
Negotiate Directly With Your Provider
Hospital billing departments expect negotiation, and they have more flexibility than most patients realize. If you’re uninsured or facing a large out-of-pocket balance, call the billing department and ask for the self-pay rate. Hospitals routinely charge uninsured patients higher list prices than what insurance companies actually pay, so asking for the insurance-negotiated rate or a comparable discount is reasonable.
You can also request an itemized bill and review it for errors. Duplicate charges, incorrect procedure codes, and charges for services you didn’t receive are common. Disputing inaccurate charges can meaningfully reduce your total.
If you can pay a lump sum, use that as leverage. Many hospitals will accept 40% to 60% of the original bill if you can pay it all at once. If a lump sum isn’t possible, most hospitals offer interest-free payment plans that stretch the balance over months or years. These in-house plans are almost always a better deal than putting the bill on a credit card or taking out a medical loan, which can carry interest rates above 20%.
Get a Good Faith Estimate Before Surgery
If you’re uninsured or paying out of pocket, federal law requires your provider to give you a good faith estimate of expected charges before any scheduled procedure. This estimate should include costs from the surgeon, the facility, anesthesia, and any other providers involved. Request this in writing and keep it.
The estimate isn’t just informational. If your final bill comes in significantly higher than the good faith estimate, you can initiate a patient-provider dispute resolution process through the federal government. This gives you a formal mechanism to challenge inflated charges rather than simply accepting whatever arrives in the mail.
Look Into Grants and Nonprofit Assistance
Several nonprofit organizations offer grants or direct financial assistance for specific types of surgery. These are typically organized around a medical condition or demographic group. Organizations focused on cancer, heart disease, organ transplants, and children’s health are among the most common. The amounts vary, from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, depending on the organization and the procedure.
To find relevant programs, search for your specific diagnosis or procedure alongside terms like “patient assistance” or “financial aid.” Your surgeon’s office or the hospital’s social work department can often provide a list of organizations that help with your particular type of surgery. Applications usually require documentation of your diagnosis, income, and insurance status.
Crowdfunding for Surgery Costs
Medical expenses are one of the most common reasons people turn to crowdfunding platforms. GoFundMe is the most widely used for medical campaigns and charges no platform fee, though payment processing takes about 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation. Other platforms charge platform fees of 4% to 5% on top of similar processing costs, so the choice of platform matters when every dollar counts.
Campaigns that include a clear explanation of the medical situation, a specific dollar amount, regular updates, and a personal photo tend to raise more. Be realistic about the timeline. Most campaigns receive the bulk of their donations in the first few days after launch, with contributions tapering off quickly. Sharing the campaign through personal networks repeatedly, not just once, makes a significant difference.
Crowdfunding works best as a supplement to other strategies rather than a sole plan. Combining a reduced hospital bill through financial assistance with crowdfunding to cover the remainder is a more reliable approach than hoping to raise the full amount online.
Medical Credit and Loan Options
Some providers offer financing through medical credit cards or loan programs with promotional interest-free periods, often 6 to 24 months. These can work if you’re confident you can pay off the full balance before the promotional period ends. If you can’t, the interest rate typically jumps to 25% or higher, and many of these programs charge deferred interest, meaning you’ll owe interest on the entire original balance retroactively.
Before signing up for any financing, compare it against the hospital’s own payment plan. Hospital payment plans are frequently interest-free with no deadline pressure, making them the safer option for most people.
Protect Your Credit During the Process
Medical debt has different credit reporting rules than other types of debt. Unpaid medical bills won’t appear on your credit report for at least one year after they go to collections, giving you time to work out payment arrangements. Medical collections with initial balances under $500 have been removed from credit reports entirely, and any medical debt you pay off will no longer show up on your report at all.
This means you have breathing room. Don’t rush into a high-interest loan or drain your savings because of pressure from a collections notice. Use that year to apply for financial assistance, negotiate the bill down, or set up a payment plan.
Deduct What You Pay on Your Taxes
If you end up paying a significant amount out of pocket, you may be able to deduct those costs on your federal tax return. Medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income are deductible if you itemize. For someone earning $50,000, that means expenses above $3,750 would qualify. This includes the surgery itself, related medications, transportation to medical appointments, and many other costs. Keep all receipts and documentation throughout the year, because the deduction only helps if you can substantiate every dollar.