A deductible the hospital wants before it confirms the date, a deposit on a scheduled procedure, or the bill that arrives after an emergency one. A private request is a way to ask the people who know you, while you decide how much of the story they hear.
Free to create and free to send.
A scheduled surgery can come with a pre-payment: the deductible, or a deposit the hospital asks for before it confirms the date. An emergency procedure brings a bill afterwards instead.
Start by asking the hospital what is due up front, what will be billed afterwards, and whether a payment plan is possible. Then ask the people who know you for the part that is left.
Renee has gallbladder surgery scheduled for the 14th. The hospital wants her deductible before it confirms the date, and she has already booked the time off work. If the pre-payment is not made by the 14th, the hospital releases the slot.
Her request names the procedure in plain words, the pre-payment and the date, with the hospital's estimate attached. She sent it to her sisters, her neighbor and two friends from her old job.
Not every surgery is scheduled. After an emergency procedure, the bill arrives once you are home, and the request takes the same shape: the procedure, the balance, the statement. For hospital bills more generally, see crowdfunding for medical bills.
You write the request, so you decide how much of the diagnosis to share. "Gallbladder surgery on the 14th" is enough; the people reading do not need the chart. Only people with the link can open it.
| What you keep | The entire amount of every contribution. |
| When it arrives | Once your bank is connected, each contribution reaches it in 2-3 business days. |
| How you send it | By text or email, to the people you choose, with photos and a video if you want them to see the situation rather than just read about it. You decide who to send it to. It's never listed on A Better Gift, and it stays out of search results unless you choose to share it publicly. |
"My mother has gallbladder surgery scheduled for the 14th, and the hospital wants the deductible up front." If you are the one paying, raise it for her: her name appears on the request, so nobody wonders who it is for, and as the person who creates it you receive the payout. Or help her set up her own.
Nothing to create a request. Nothing to send it. And nothing comes out of what people give you: you receive the entire amount.
