As healthcare costs rise for patients, social media influencers are telling their followers to think twice before paying high medical bills, and in some cases not to pay them at all, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 6.
In the past three months, more than 426,000 posts on several platforms mentioned medical bills, advice against paying them, tips for negotiating them down and related topics, according to social media intelligence firm Sprout Social. That is a 36,000% increase from 1,163 mentions in the same period a year earlier, the Journal reported.
The trend could make an existing problem,unpaid bills, worse for hospitals. Bad debt and charity care per day rose 16% year to date through May compared with the same period in 2025, according to Kaufman Hall data. Hospitals with 100 to 199 beds saw the steepest increase, at 25%.
Here is a closer look at the trend:
The posts
Some content creators say outright that they will not pay. One man posted a TikTok video saying he would not pay a $1,000 emergency room bill for a visit that found he had sprained his ankle. The video has drawn more than 3 million views and more than 8,000 comments, many sharing their own stories of large unpaid bills.
Other creators focus on lowering bills rather than skipping them. A popular group of these posts comes from new mothers who received large bills after giving birth. One influencer tells followers not to pay a hospital bill until they request an itemized version and look for errors and duplicate charges. She also suggests asking for discounts, including for immediately paying in full, which she claimed cut her own delivery bill from $1,500 to $1,100. Another creator said a collection agency offered her a 25% discount after her hospital sent her bill to collections five months after she gave birth, the Journal reported.
Personal finance creators are getting involved too. Erika Kullberg, a lawyer known for consumer advice on social media, hired billing experts to learn how patients can save and now shares tips with her followers. Her advice includes asking for an itemized bill before paying, checking the insurer’s explanation of benefits and asking whether the patient qualifies for the hospital’s financial assistance program.
What’s driving it
Patients are paying more for coverage and care. ACA marketplace enrollment is projected to average about 17.5 million in 2026, down from 22.3 million in 2025, according to a KFF analysis. The average deductible rose 37%, or more than $1,000 per person, to a record $3,786, and average monthly premium payments for enrollees rose 58%, from $113 to $178. Many people with insurance are also choosing high-deductible plans to keep premiums down, the Journal reported.
The posts add to hospitals’ challenges in collecting out-of-pocket payments from patients, the Journal reported. Revenue cycle leaders were already bracing for more bad debt this year. In January, Kerry Rogers, associate chief revenue cycle officer at Charleston, S.C.-based MUSC Health, told Becker’s that Medicaid and ACA subsidy cuts “will increase underinsured volumes and drive charity care and bad debt.” Advice to skip bills altogether could add to that pressure and mean more follow-up on unpaid balances for revenue cycle teams.
“Any kind of negative perception is always concerning,” Rick Gundling, senior vice president at the Healthcare Financial Management Association, told the Journal. “Hospitals would want to make sure patients and the community know they can have conversations with the hospital.”
