Skip to main content
Healthcare guides

Free step-by-step guides for denials, bills, surprise bills, and prior auth.

Pick the issue in front of you. Each guide helps you understand the document and decide the next step.

Upload a documentBrowse guides

Start here

Denials 12 min read

How to Appeal a Health Insurance Denial

Insurers denied 20% of 2024 ACA marketplace claims, but fewer than 1% of denied in-network claims were formally appealed. ACA and ERISA protections, the internal-to-external appeal process, and exactly what to include in your appeal.

Read guide
Bills 10 min read

How to Dispute a Surprise Medical Bill

If your final bill is $400+ above the Good Faith Estimate, you can file a federal Patient-Provider Dispute Resolution. IDR portal volume doubled YoY in H1 2025 (1.2M new disputes) — here is the step-by-step filing guide with deadlines.

Read guide

All guides

Denials 12 min read

How to Appeal a Health Insurance Denial

Step-by-step guide (2026)

Insurers denied 20% of 2024 ACA marketplace claims, but fewer than 1% of denied in-network claims were formally appealed. ACA and ERISA protections, the internal-to-external appeal process, and exactly what to include in your appeal.

Read guide
Denials 13 min read

Denied by Your Employer Health Plan? Your ERISA Appeal Rights

Employer-plan (ERISA) guide (2026)

About 154 million Americans are on employer health plans governed by ERISA. Your 180-day appeal window, the free claim file the plan must hand over, self-funded vs fully insured, and the right external review path for each.

Read guide
Bills 10 min read

How to Dispute a Surprise Medical Bill

No Surprises Act guide (2026)

If your final bill is $400+ above the Good Faith Estimate, you can file a federal Patient-Provider Dispute Resolution. IDR portal volume doubled YoY in H1 2025 (1.2M new disputes) — here is the step-by-step filing guide with deadlines.

Read guide
Prior Auth 11 min read

How to Appeal a Prior Authorization Denial

Step-by-step guide (2026)

Prior auth denied? Complete walkthrough of peer-to-peer review, formal internal appeals, and independent external review — with the medical-necessity evidence plans often ask for.

Read guide
Bills 10 min read

How to Find and Fix Medical Bill Errors

Complete guide (2026)

Many medical bills contain errors. Learn how to spot upcoding, duplicate charges, unbundled services, and coding mistakes — and dispute them step by step.

Read guide
Bills 14 min read

What to Do When Your Medical Bill Is Too High

Step-by-step guide (2026)

How to check for billing errors, compare fair prices, negotiate directly with providers, apply for charity care, and set up interest-free payment plans.

Read guide
Medical Debt 15 min read

Medical Debt in Collections?

Your rights and next steps (2026)

Your rights under the FDCPA, debt validation, charity care eligibility, the 2023 credit report changes (and the 2025 CFPB rule that got vacated), and challenging unfair collection practices.

Read guide
EOB / Statements 10 min read

How to Read Your EOB

Plain English guide (2026)

Your Explanation of Benefits is not a bill. Decode what each section means, terms like "allowed amount" and "coinsurance," and know when something looks wrong.

Read guide
Patient Rights 12 min read

Questions to Ask Before Any Medical Procedure

Avoid surprise bills (2026)

About 20 minutes on the phone before your procedure can prevent a bill you never agreed to. Coverage verification, prior auth, cost estimates, in-network checks, and your rights under the No Surprises Act.

Read guide
Patient Rights 9 min read

My ACA Premium Doubled — What Now?

After the subsidy cliff (2026)

Enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025 and benchmark premiums rose ~26% for 2026. Check whether you still qualify for help, avoid the high-deductible buy-down trap, and know your enrollment windows.

Read guide
Patient Rights 10 min read

Lost Medicaid or Facing Renewal Paperwork?

Renewals, work rules, and appeals (2026)

69% of unwinding disenrollments were procedural — paperwork, not eligibility. How to respond to renewal packets, prepare for work requirements, appeal a termination (and keep coverage while you do), and get help if you are uninsured with bills.

Read guide
Prior Auth 7 min read

What to Do When Prior Authorization Is Denied

Review your options step by step (2026)

A prior auth denial does not mean you cannot get the treatment your doctor ordered. Peer-to-peer review, formal appeals, and external review explained.

Read guide
Patient Rights 7 min read

Your Rights When Insurance Denies Your Claim

Know the law (2026)

Federal and state laws give you specific, enforceable rights to challenge insurance denials. What the ACA, ERISA, and the No Surprises Act actually guarantee you.

Read guide
Denials 6 min read

Appeal a Medicare Advantage Denial

Evidence checklist (2026)

Medicare Advantage plans denied 4.1M prior-auth requests in 2024 — a 56% jump YoY. CMS-0057-F now forces specific denial reasons. Upload your denial and we draft the appeal with Medicare citations.

Read guide
Denials 7 min read

Appeal an Ozempic / Wegovy / Mounjaro Denial

Step-therapy and BMI evidence (2026)

Over half of weight-management GLP-1 requests are rejected on first pass — often for step-therapy, BMI-threshold, or plan-exclusion reasons. Covers every major GLP-1.

Read guide
Patient Rights 8 min read

Can’t afford care? Help before the bill

Real programs most people don’t know (2026)

One in three Americans skipped care last year because of cost. FQHC sliding-scale clinics, hospital charity care (§501(r)), prescription assistance, and ACA subsidies — most require nothing but an application.

Read guide
Denials 8 min read

Appeal a Mental Health Coverage Denial

MHPAEA parity guide (2026)

Denied therapy, substance-use treatment, or psychiatric care your plan covers for comparable physical conditions? The federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act may protect you — including the 2024 Final Rule.

Read guide
Prior Auth 5 min read

Prior Auth & Denial Rates by Insurer

Public data explorer (2026)

How often UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Kaiser, and others deny prior authorizations and claims — consolidated public data in one place, including Medicare Advantage and ACA marketplace plans.

Read guide
Bills 3 min check

Hospital Charity Care: Check If You Qualify

§501(r) eligibility check (2026)

Covered tax-exempt hospitals must publish financial-assistance criteria under federal §501(r). Calculate a guideline percentage, then compare the hospital policy and any applicable state protections.

Read guide
EOB / Statements 6 min read

Understanding Your Explanation of Benefits

Key EOB terms explained (2026)

Your EOB is not a bill, but it is what you check a bill against to catch errors and overcharges. Allowed amount, coinsurance, patient responsibility — plus the red flags that signal something is wrong.

Read guide
Bills 6 min read

5 Common Medical Bill Errors That Cost You Money

Spot the patterns (2026)

Upcoding, duplicate charges, unbundling, wrong patient information, and improper balance billing — what each error looks like on an itemized bill and how to dispute it.

Read guide
Patient Rights 6 min read

How to Find Lower Prescription Drug Prices

Pay less at the pharmacy (2026)

Generics, pharmacy price comparison, discount programs, manufacturer patient assistance, therapeutic alternatives, 90-day supplies, and Medicare Extra Help.

Read guide

Done reading? Upload a document.

Lysco reads your bill or denial and shows what to do next — about 30 seconds, no credit card.

Start Free