Dollar For has developed a new vision for financial assistance. We combined our practical understanding and data-informed knowledge of financial assistance to design a better program.
Fixing Hospital Financial Assistance Programs: The Dollar For Solution
Dollar For calls for hospitals—not patients—to be responsible for financial assistance. The report outlines three key elements of a comprehensive solution: Transparent Screening to proactively identify eligible patients, an Improved Application Process to remove access barriers, and Debt Collection Protections to prevent aggressive billing. These reforms would ensure hospitals distribute the $14 billion in financial assistance that currently goes unprovided each year.
Fixing Hospital Financial Assistance Programs: Implementing Transparent Screening
Most eligible patients never apply for financial assistance—often because they don’t know it exists. Dollar For’s transparent screening model offers a proactive alternative: screen every patient before billing begins. This report explains how hospitals can take responsibility for identifying eligible patients and use existing tools to ensure they get help automatically.
Fixing Hospital Financial Assistance Programs: Improving the Traditional Application Process
Too many patients are denied financial assistance not because they’re ineligible—but because the process is broken. From confusing forms to arbitrary deadlines and language barriers, this report outlines the everyday obstacles that keep people from getting help. It offers practical solutions to simplify applications, eliminate unnecessary paperwork, and make financial assistance truly accessible.
Fixing Hospital Financial Assistance Programs: Strengthening Medical Debt Collection Protections
Patients are regularly sent to collections without ever being told they qualified for financial assistance. Dollar For proposes a clear rule to fix that: no collections without proof of screening. This report lays out policy solutions that would stop hospitals and debt collectors from pursuing patients for bills they never should have received.
Model State Legislation
The Dollar For model legislation is intended to be the foundational language for the development of state financial assistance laws.
Hospital Toolkit
This toolkit was created by Dollar For to support hospital leaders, policymakers, and community advocates working to expand access to hospital financial assistance. The content reflects research from The Path to Charity Care (2024) and Bridging the Chasm (2024), as well as national best practices and model policies.