Start here
The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why the itemised version changes the conversation
Billing departments respond to specifics. A line number with a duplicate charge is answerable; 'the bill seems high' is not.
Hospitals must publish prices and give you a bill you can audit, and financial-assistance rules apply to nonprofit hospitals regardless of the bill's accuracy.
The protocol
- Request the itemised bill in writing, with codes, and keep the request date.
- Compare each line with your own record: dates, treatments, medications, and the discharge summary.
- Flag anything duplicated, bundled, or coded above what was provided, citing the line and code.
- Ask for an explanation in writing before paying the disputed portion.
- Keep the audit, the correspondence, and any revised bill together.
What the tool does
Build an itemised hospital bill audit It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a preparation aid, not medical, legal or insurance advice. It cannot force a payer to pay, guarantee an appeal outcome, or tell you which care is right for you.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete run in this browser, no account. Optional $4 one-time unlock allows unlimited runs of this tool on this browser. The free path and safety guidance never require payment.
Rule status (mixed route): Status, 2026-10-03: hospital price-transparency and itemised-billing duties are in force, and nonprofit hospitals must maintain a financial-assistance policy; the federal medical-debt credit-reporting rule was vacated in 2025, so state protection varies.
Automated decision this documents: automated coding and claim adjudication of a hospital bill
Free path, in order (no cost):
- The hospital's own financial counsellor and financial-assistance policy
- Your state hospital-billing or consumer-protection office
- A legal-aid health or medical-debt unit, found through LawHelp.org
What this cannot do: It cannot force a payer to pay, guarantee an appeal outcome, or tell you which care is right for you.
Sources checked 2026-10-03 · source bank reviewed against the live pages listed in metadata.
One human next step
Send the written audit to the hospital's billing department and ask for a corrected statement; if it refuses, ask for the financial-assistance policy and contact your state hospital-billing or insurance consumer office.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a verdict. This builder organises the reader's own documents and names an independent source; it does not infer authenticity, eligibility, or legal rights. §6.9/§6.10/§6.11 disclosed in the batch report; §6.12 status line carried in metadata as `status_line`.
§0.5 protection result: category is insurance-and-medical-costs; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.