Starlight Partners with Dollar For to Help Credit Union Members Tackle Hospital Debt

Medical debt affects 4 in 10 Americans, yet billions of dollars in hospital charity care go unclaimed every year, simply because people don't know it exists. 

Starlight is partnering with Dollar For to change that. 

Dollar For is a nonprofit that has eliminated over $121 million in medical debt by helping patients access the free or discounted care many hospitals are legally required to offer but rarely promote. Starlight is adding Dollar For to its platform so credit union members can access this support where they already bank—no searching across websites, no confusing applications. Launched in January, this is embedded directly into Starlight’s platform.

Why billions go unclaimed

Rising healthcare costs continue to burden low and middle income households. Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to offer charity care—free or discounted bills based on income—but the system is broken:

• Only 29% of eligible patients actually receive the help they qualify for
• 52% of patients never receive information about charity care from their hospital
• 51% of potentially eligible patients don't apply because they don't know it exists

Even when patients do apply, every hospital has different policies, applications, and requirements—with income eligibility ranging wildly from 41% to 600% of the federal poverty level depending on the hospital. Billions of dollars in potential relief go unclaimed every year simply because the system is complex and hidden.

The solution: meeting members where they are

Dollar For has eliminated $121+ million in hospital debt by maintaining a national database of hospital financial assistance policies and guiding patients through applications. When patients get help, approval rates hit 67%, and bills can be significantly reduced or eliminated entirely. For members who don't qualify for charity care, Dollar For provides negotiation guides with proven strategies for reducing hospital bills through payment plans, bill audits, and direct negotiation—tools that work regardless of income level.

The challenge has always been reach—getting this support to the millions of people who need it but don't know it exists. Starlight solves this by embedding Dollar For directly into credit union banking apps, bringing specialized debt relief expertise to an underserved population at scale. When members are managing their finances or paying bills, they can check eligibility and apply for assistance right where they bank—no searching, no separate logins, no navigating complex hospital websites.

Instead of expecting people to find hidden resources on their own, Starlight delivers billions in unclaimed hospital financial assistance to credit union members at exactly the moment they need it.

What’s next

Medical debt is one of the biggest financial burdens facing LMI households. Starlight is building a benefits ecosystem that meets members where they are—within the credit unions they already use—rather than expecting them to search for help across dozens of websites.

This partnership expands our ability to deliver the right support at the right time, addressing both immediate relief and long-term financial stability.

“Credit union members shouldn’t need to become experts in hospital billing to access relief they’re legally entitled to. We built Starlight to surface benefits when members need them—this partnership with Dollar For does exactly that. When someone is navigating hospital bills, we can now connect them to millions in assistance that might otherwise go unclaimed." - Shreenath Regunathan, Starlight Founder & CEO

"The hardest part of our work isn't helping people reduce their bills—it's finding them before the debt goes to collections. Most patients discover charity care programs too late, if at all. Starlight changes the timeline. Now we can reach members while they're actively managing their hospital bills, when intervention actually matters. That's the difference between preventing financial crisis and trying to fix it after the fact." - Jared Walker, Dollar For Founder & CEO

Dollar For is the latest addition to Starlight's growing benefits platform. As we continue building, we're focused on making critical support accessible, scalable, and embedded where members are.

Credit unions interested in activating Dollar For for their members can get in touch at hello@get-starlight.com or book a demo at get-starlight.com.

Published February 12, 2026