This one isn't a fight, and we're not going to pretend it is. Dollar For is a nonprofit that helps people get hospital bills forgiven through charity care, for free. mediloop is a paid service that audits and negotiates bills of every kind. They solve different problems — and knowing which problem you have is worth more than any comparison table.
Quick answer
If your bill is from a hospital and your income may qualify you for financial assistance, start with Dollar For — it's free. If you don't qualify, the bill isn't from a hospital (ambulance, physician group, out-of-network specialist), or the charges themselves look wrong, that's negotiation-and-audit territory — mediloop's flat $129 fee with a money-back guarantee. Many people should actually use both paths on the same bill.
Disclosure as always: mediloop wrote this page. That's exactly why we're being direct about when the free option is the right one — recommending a paid service to someone who qualifies for free bill forgiveness would be bad advice, and bad detective work.
mediloop vs Dollar For at a glance
| mediloop | Dollar For | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Bill audit + negotiation service | Nonprofit charity-care helper |
| Cost | Flat fee — $69 EOB review, $129 per bill, $499/yr | Free |
| Core method | Error audit, disputes, negotiation | Hospital financial-assistance applications |
| Bill types | Hospital, ER, surgery, ambulance, out-of-network | Hospital bills only |
| Who it helps | Anyone with a bill that looks wrong or too high | Patients whose income qualifies for charity care |
| If it doesn't work | 100% money-back (per-bill plan) | Free either way |
Details as published in July 2026 and subject to change. Confirm current terms with each organization.
Two different tools, honestly
Charity care and negotiation attack a bill from different directions. Charity care asks: based on your income, should you owe this at all? Negotiation asks: are these charges even correct — and what will the provider actually accept? A bill can be beatable on either ground, or both. That's why "which service" is really "which problem do I have" — and why the answer changes with your income, your insurance, and why the number got that big in the first place.
What Dollar For does
Dollar For is a national nonprofit that helps patients find out whether they qualify for their hospital's financial-assistance (charity care) program, then helps them complete and submit the application and follows up until there's an answer — all free. Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to run these programs, and Dollar For has helped patients in all 50 states get tens of millions of dollars in hospital bills reduced or wiped out entirely.
The honest limits: it's hospital bills only (no ambulance, pharmacy, dental, or standalone physician bills), and it's eligibility-based — if your income is above your hospital's thresholds, charity care simply isn't available, no matter who fills out the form.
What mediloop does
mediloop is an audit-and-negotiation service. Agent Loop digs through the itemized bill line by line — duplicate charges, wrong codes, inflated rates, services that never happened — then an RN or certified coder reviews the findings and we negotiate the balance with the provider. That works whether or not you qualify for assistance, on hospital, ER, surgery, ambulance, and out-of-network bills. Flat fee, $129 per bill, 100% money-back if we can't reduce it.
Will you qualify for charity care?
Most hospital financial-assistance programs key off the federal poverty level — free care commonly up to around 200% FPL and discounted care up to 300–400%, though every hospital sets its own thresholds and some states mandate more generous ones. Our guide to hospital charity care and how to apply walks through finding your hospital's policy and what to say. If you're not sure you qualify, it costs nothing to check — and if money is tight in every direction, start with the full option map in what to do when you can't pay.
The smart move: check both paths
These paths stack. A charity-care award can cut a qualifying hospital bill to zero — but a denied application still leaves every other tool on the table: the error audit, the discount ask, the self-pay rate, the negotiation. mediloop screens every bill for charity-care eligibility as part of the review — if you look like a strong candidate for free forgiveness, we'll tell you before you spend a dollar on us. (Goodbill, to its credit, does the same screening — see mediloop vs Goodbill.)
Dealing with a bill right now?
Agent Loop investigates the charges, catches errors, and negotiates directly — so you don't have to make a single call. Average savings of 60–80%.
When to use which
Use Dollar For (free) if:
- The bill is from a hospital, and
- your household income is plausibly under ~200–400% of the federal poverty level, and
- the charges themselves look accurate — the problem is affording them.
Use mediloop if:
- Your income is above charity-care thresholds, or your application was denied,
- the bill is from an ambulance company, physician group, or out-of-network provider, or
- the charges look wrong — duplicates, inflated rates, services you didn't receive — and you want them investigated and negotiated, not just forgiven.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dollar For really free?
Yes — it's a nonprofit funded by donations and grants. There's no catch, and we recommend them without hesitation for qualifying hospital bills.
Will applying for charity care hurt my credit or my care?
No. Applying is a legal right at nonprofit hospitals, it doesn't touch your credit, and hospitals can't retaliate with worse care. Even a pending application typically pauses collection activity.
What if my income is just over the threshold?
Apply anyway — some hospitals grant partial discounts above published thresholds or consider hardship case-by-case. If it's still a no, negotiation is the fallback, and the audit often finds reductions eligibility never could.
Where do the other paid services fit?
We've compared the whole market — fees, caps, deposits, and who each service suits — in our guide to the best medical bill negotiation services.
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