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Email templates · Hospital and clinic

Email template to ask a hospital for a payment plan

A hospital bill has arrived that you cannot pay in one go, and the due date is close. Nearly every hospital will split a bill into monthly payments if you ask, and many do it with no interest, but the statement rarely says so and the first phone call often steers you toward a medical credit card that does charge interest. Asking by email lets you say exactly what you can afford and get the terms back in writing. It also creates a dated record that you engaged with the bill, which matters if the account is ever sent to a collection agency, the outside company hospitals hire to chase unpaid accounts.

Before you send

  • The account number and the amount from the latest statement. Check that the amount is what's left after your insurance paid; the bill should label it "patient responsibility."
  • A monthly figure you can actually keep up with. Missed payments on a plan can cancel it, so pick a number with room.
  • Whether you have asked for an itemized bill and checked it. Do not set up a plan on a bill you haven't checked; errors are common, and a plan on a wrong amount is still a wrong amount.
  • Whether you might qualify for financial assistance, sometimes called charity care. Nonprofit hospitals are required by federal law to have a financial assistance policy, and many reduce or forgive bills for patients well above the poverty line. Ask about this in the same email.
  • The due date on the statement, so you send before it, not after.
Subject Payment plan request, account [account number] 
Hi [hospital name] billing team,

I'm writing about account [account number] for [patient name], for care on [date of service]. The balance shown as my responsibility is [amount], and I'm not able to pay that in one payment.

I'd like to set up a monthly payment plan directly with the hospital. I can pay [monthly amount] per month starting [date], which would clear the balance in about [number] months. Could you confirm whether you can accept that, and whether the plan is interest-free? If that's longer than your standard plan, please tell me the longest term you can offer rather than referring me to a financing company.

I'd also like to apply for financial assistance in case I qualify. Please send the application or a link to it, and let me know whether the account can be held out of collections while it's reviewed.

Please reply in writing so I have the terms on record.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Phone number]
[Date of birth of the patient]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A normal reply confirms the monthly amount, the number of months and that no interest applies, or offers a slightly shorter term. Get it in writing before the first payment, and pay by a method that leaves a record.
  • A bad reply pushes you to a third-party medical credit card or lender. You can say no. Ask again for the hospital's own plan; almost every hospital has one.
  • If the answer is that the account is already with collections, ask the hospital to recall it while a plan or an assistance application is set up. Many will.
  • If the financial assistance application is approved, the balance and the plan both change. Ask for a new statement before you keep paying the old number.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Set up a payment plan on my hospital bill 
Hi StandIn,

Please arrange a monthly, interest-free payment plan with a hospital on a bill I can't pay at once, and ask whether I qualify for financial assistance.

The hospital and account: [hospital name, billing department contact, account number].
Patient and date of care: [patient name, date of service].
Amount I owe: [balance shown as patient responsibility].
What I can pay per month: [amount] starting [date].
Statement due date: [date].

Get the terms confirmed in writing, push back if they try to steer me to a financing company, request the financial assistance application, and let me know what to sign.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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