Know what you really owe

Upload a medical bill. CareGap compares every charge against Medicare rates, matches your legal protections, and writes a dispute letter for you.

See a real analysis

Here's what CareGap finds on a typical emergency room bill.

Riverside General Medical Center

Patient: J. AlvarezAccount #RGM-4419Service date: Feb 14, 2026
Balance due$4,231.00
CPTDescriptionAmount
99283ER visit — moderate complexity$812.00
99284ER visit — high complexity$3,200.00
71046Chest X-ray, 2 views$219.00
36415Routine venipuncture$187.00
J1885Ketorolac 30mg IV$13.00

Sample bill. Patient name and hospital redacted; CPT codes and amounts are representative.

Charges we flagged

CPT 99284 — Billed $3,200.00

CMS benchmark $405.20

4.8x over

CPT 36415 — Billed $187.00

CMS benchmark $8.76

21x over
Total disputable$2,847.00

Protection matched

No Surprises Act

Emergency services at an out-of-network facility. Patient is protected from balance billing beyond in-network cost-sharing under 42 U.S.C. §300gg-111.

Dispute letter excerpt

“I am writing to formally dispute charges on Account #RGM-4419. CPT code 99284 was billed at $3,200.00, compared to the CMS national benchmark of $405.20 — a markup of 4.8x. Under the No Surprises Act (42 U.S.C. §300gg-111), I am entitled to protection from excessive out-of-network emergency charges...”

Your bill is sensitive. We treat it that way.

Four plain-English answers before you upload.

Where does my file go?

Your file is uploaded over TLS to our analysis server, processed in memory, and the extracted data is stored for your session only. We do not sync to third-party cloud storage, analytics platforms, or ad networks.

How long is it kept?

We automatically delete uploaded files within 24 hours unless you create an account and save them. Extracted analysis data (line items, codes, flags) is kept only as long as you keep your account.

Do humans see it?

No. Analysis is fully automated via AI vision and Claude. A human reviewer only sees your bill if you explicitly open a support ticket and attach it.

Do you train models on my data?

No. We do not use your bills to train, fine-tune, or improve any AI model — ours or anyone else’s.

CareGap is not a covered entity under HIPAA. We operate under a HIPAA-conscious design standard \u2014 we treat your data with the same care a covered entity would, but you retain your own protected health information and are not a “patient” of ours in the clinical sense.

How it works

Upload your bill

Take a photo or upload a PDF of your medical bill. We read every line item.

Compare against fair rates

We check each charge against 18,000+ Medicare rates and flag anything suspicious.

Get your dispute letter

A ready-to-send letter with specific charges, legal citations, and next steps.

Laws most patients don't know exist

CareGap checks every bill against these protections automatically.

No Surprises Act

Protects you from ‘balance billing’ for emergency services and certain out-of-network services at in-network facilities. In effect since 2022.

501(r) Charity Care

Nonprofit hospitals (most U.S. hospitals) are federally required to offer financial assistance to qualifying patients. Most won’t tell you about it unless you ask.

Hospital Price Transparency Rule

Hospitals must publish their standard charges and negotiated rates. If they don’t, the bill you received may be unenforceable.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Limits what debt collectors can do when pursuing a medical debt, including banning harassment, false statements, and contacting your employer.

State-specific programs

Every state has additional protections. New Jersey’s IHCAP, California’s Hospital Fair Pricing Act, Maryland’s all-payer rate system, and others create extra leverage.

Medical Debt Credit Reporting Rules

Paid medical debts and medical debts under $500 generally can’t appear on your credit report. If yours does, you can force its removal.

0

of U.S. medical bills contain at least one billing error.

Medical Billing Advocates of America

0

in medical debt is held by Americans.

KFF, 2020 SIPP analysis

0

average overcharge on hospital bills over $10,000.

Medical billing industry analyses, 2024–2025

0

Americans have some form of healthcare debt.

KFF Health News "Diagnosis: Debt"

Is CareGap right for your situation?

CareGap is for you if:

  • You’re uninsured, underinsured, or paying a bill out of pocket
  • You got a surprise ER or out-of-network charge
  • Your hospital bill seems unusually high and you don’t know why
  • You were charged for services you don’t remember receiving
  • Your bill went to collections and you want to push back
  • You qualify (or might qualify) for hospital charity care that wasn’t offered
  • You just want to understand what a fair price would be before paying

Not built for (yet):

  • Active insurance appeals or EOB disputes
  • Medicaid coverage denials
  • Dental or vision-only bills
  • Single charges under $50 where a dispute isn’t worth your time
  • Emergency medical legal situations (if you’re being sued or garnished, please see a lawyer)

If you're not sure whether your situation fits, upload the bill anyway. Our analyzer will tell you what it found and flag if the scope is outside CareGap's current coverage.