This is NPR's Life Kit with tools to help you get it together.

Hey everybody, Mary Elcigara here.

About 10 years ago, Jared Walker says he and his wife were sitting at home.

When she got a phone call, it was bad news.

Her aunt had passed away from cancer and then few minutes later I got a phone call.

My cousin had gone into labor similar experimenture.

Maybe he needs a heart surgery to live and both families kind of hit with these medical crises.

And I remember hearing conversations like how are we going to pay for it?

That was Jared's first real run-in with the US health care system.

First time he realized that for a lot of people in the US, a medical crisis is also a financial crisis.

A few years later he started dollar four, now a national nonprofit that helps people eliminate their medical bills.

And he says, if you're staring at a big, terrifying medical bill, first of all you are absolutely not alone.

There's an estimated $195 billion of outstanding medical debt in America.

There's no shame this is not, you know, because of some failing on your part.

You didn't choose to have a medical crisis.

This is everything to do with the broken system and not you.

But also there's a well-kept secret about the astronomical amounts on your medical bills.

They're fake numbers. They can be negotiated.

And many hospitals are actually required by law to lower your bill or get rid of it entirely if your income falls below a certain amount.

Medical bills always seem urgent, especially when they say do-upon receipt, but you should know that you have a lot of time before they're sent to collections or they affect your credit.

And there is no like sense of urgency. You have to pay this now. You have time.

You can take a deep breath, get a plan, and go from there.

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