The Free Help Directory
Real free help exists for medical billing, Medicare, and caregiving problems — funded by the government and nonprofits, staffed by people who do this all day. Most families are never told. Here's the honest map: who does what, and exactly when to call them. I'd rather you use a free program that fits than pay anyone — including me — for something the system already owes you.
Medicare problems
SHIP — State Health Insurance Assistance Program
Free, unbiased one-on-one Medicare counseling in every state. Counselors will explain coverage, compare plans, and even file appeals with you. In Florida the program is called SHINE.
Florida: 1-800-963-5337 · Nationwide: shiphelp.org or 1-877-839-2675
Your BFCC-QIO (Quality Improvement Organization)
Medicare patients can appeal a discharge they believe is unsafe — the QIO reviews fast (about a day) and the hospital can't discharge or bill while it's pending. The phone number is on the "Important Message from Medicare" form given at admission; any nurse can get it for you.
Find yours: medicare.gov/talk-to-someone · 1-800-MEDICARE
Solace — Medicare-covered patient advocates
Remote advocates who help Medicare members by phone and video: scheduling appointments, chasing paperwork and referrals, insurance questions, finding the right doctors. It's billed to Medicare like a doctor's visit, so for most members there's typically nothing out of pocket. For day-to-day healthcare navigation, it's genuinely useful — try it.
What it isn't: someone at the bedside, a line-by-line audit of the bill against the medical record, or protection of the financial side. Phone advocacy ends where the hospital room begins.
Hospital bills
Dollar For — charity care applications
Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to offer financial assistance, and most eligible families are never told. Dollar For checks eligibility and completes the application with you, free. Often works even with insurance, and even after you've started paying.
The No Surprises Help Desk (CMS)
Federal protection against surprise out-of-network bills for emergencies, and the right to a good-faith estimate if uninsured or self-pay (if the bill comes in $400+ over the estimate, you can dispute it).
1-800-985-3059 · cms.gov/medical-bill-rights
Caregiving and aging
Eldercare Locator + your Area Agency on Aging
The federal front door to every local aging service: meals, transport, respite care, in-home help, caregiver support programs. One call routes you to your county's Area Agency on Aging.
1-800-677-1116 · eldercare.acl.gov · Florida: elderaffairs.org (Elder Helpline 1-800-963-5337)
Family Caregiver Alliance
40+ free recorded webinars, condition-by-condition guides, and state-specific resource lists for family caregivers. The best free caregiver education library that exists.
Patient Advocate Foundation
Free professional case management for patients with chronic, debilitating, or life-threatening diagnoses — insurance appeals, access problems, and some copay relief funds.
patientadvocate.org · 1-800-532-5274
BenefitsCheckUp (NCOA)
A free screener that finds benefits programs seniors qualify for but aren't using — prescription help, utility assistance, SNAP, Medicare Savings Programs that pay Part B premiums.
45 minutes. If a free program is the right answer, I'll point you to it by name — that's a promise.