Help with Bills
Learn about the help you can get through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Learn about government programs to help pay for phone bills, medical bills, and other expenses. You can also learn how to apply for temporary assistance.
CARES Act Provides Relief for Individuals and Businesses
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, or stimulus package, was signed into law on March 27, 2020. It offers help in many forms for individuals and businesses affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Help for Individuals: Stimulus Checks
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be issuing one-time payments for many individuals starting in late April 2020. Most people won’t have to do anything to get their stimulus check. Find out if you qualify for a stimulus payment, if you’ll have to do anything to get it, and when you might receive it.
Help for Individuals: Expansion of Unemployment Benefits
The CARES Act expands eligibility, amount, and duration of benefits for people impacted by the coronavirus. Read about those and other coronavirus-related changes to unemployment benefits.
Home Loan Relief: Federally-Backed Mortgages
Single family homeowners with federally-backed mortgages get two types of financial help:
Protection from eviction and foreclosure through mid-May
Reduced or postponed mortgage payments for up to a year
Renter Relief: Multi-Family Homes With Federally-Backed Mortgages
If you live in an apartment building with a federally-backed mortgage, you're safe from eviction till late July. Read more about that and about renter relief from some states.
Credit Report Protection
If you're affected by the coronavirus pandemic, you can ask a creditor to make an accommodation to defer or modify your payments. If you follow that agreement, your creditor cannot change your credit report status; if you were up-to-date in your payments before the accommodation, your creditor must still report you as current. If you were delinquent in your payments before the accommodation, your creditor will continue to report you as delinquent until you bring the account current.
Federal Student Loan Relief
Federal student loan payments are suspended from March 13 to September 30, 2020. Your payments will automatically stop during this period.
Help for Businesses: Small Business Administration Loans
The CARES Act creates or boosts programs designed to keep small businesses afloat.
Help for Businesses: Payroll Tax Credit for Businesses of All Sizes
The Employee Retention Credit allows businesses of all sizes to receive a tax credit for keeping employees on their payroll. It will refund 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses that take small business loans are not eligible.
Get Help Paying for Telephone Service
Find out how you can get help paying for landline or cell (wireless) telephone service.
What help is available to pay for phone service?
Lifeline is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program. It helps low-income individuals and families get discounted landline or cell phone service. Some people also qualify for a free phone.
Am I eligible for the Lifeline program?
You may qualify for this program if you or your family meet one of the following:
- Have income at 135% or less than the federal poverty guidelines
- Participate in a government program including:
Head Start (if you meet income eligibility criteria)
Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8)
Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (food stamps or SNAP)
Medicaid
Live on tribal land and qualify for certain tribal programs
Receive a federal veterans pension
How do I apply for Lifeline?
Find a company in your area that offers Lifeline. You must apply through a local participating company.
Who do I contact for extra help with Lifeline?
Your local phone company is responsible for helping you apply for Lifeline and resolving any issues with your Lifeline service. To call them, look up your company's contact information.
If you need more help or your company isn’t responding, contact the Lifeline Support Center.
They can:
Find companies that offer Lifeline-supported service
Look up which company you are using
Help if your company refuses to help you or is unresponsive
Answer questions about how the program works
They cannot:
Help you apply for Lifeline
Buy more minutes
Sort out your bill
Replace lost or broken handsets
Help you get specific information about your service plan
Is there anything else I need to know about the Lifeline program?
Get Help with Your Home Energy Bill
If you can't afford to pay your home heating or cooling bill, you may be able to get help from the government or your local social services agency or nonprofit.
What help is available for my home energy bill?
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) may be able to help with:
- Assistance to pay your heating or cooling bills
- Emergency services in cases of energy crisis, such as utility shutoffs
- Low-cost home improvements, known as weatherization, that make your home more energy efficient and lower your utility bills.
LIHEAP funds may not be used to pay water and sewer bills.
Am I eligible for LIHEAP?
This chart from Benefits.gov shows the average LIHEAP eligibility requirements. Actual requirements may vary by state, city, or region. Each local LIHEAP office sets its own eligibility requirements.
- A person or family participating in certain other benefit programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF or welfare), or certain needs-tested veterans benefits may be automatically eligible.
- Being qualified for LIHEAP does not guarantee that you will receive help. Whether or not you receive help depends on how much LIHEAP funding is available for the year.
- On average, about 20% of households that are qualified for LIHEAP receive benefits. When LIHEAP funds run out for the year, no more benefits can be given until Congress makes more funds available.
How do I apply for LIHEAP?
Each state has different rules about when you can apply, how you apply, and the criteria you have to meet to get help.
- Contact your local LIHEAP office for application details.
- Your state’s application may be online. Check the LIHEAP Clearinghouse for a list of state applications available to print out, read, or submit online.
Who do I contact for extra LIHEAP help?
Are there other places I can get help if I don't qualify for LIHEAP?
If your income is too high to qualify for LIHEAP but you need help paying for your energy bills, your local social services agency or a nonprofit organization may have funds to help. You can also contact your gas, oil, or electric company about budget billing programs or new payment options especially for customers with disabilities who are on Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
How Do I Get Help With My Medical Bills?
Learn how to find help from the government with medical bills and insurance options.
Medicaid and CHIP (Health Care for Children)
What help is available?
Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides help with paying medical costs for children of families who cannot afford health insurance or don't get it through their work. Learn more about eligibility and how to sign up for Medicaid and CHIP.
Social Security and Medicare
What help is available?
Local Social Security Administration (SSA) offices help those on Social Security and Medicare find help. People over 65, people with disabilities under 65, and people with end-stage kidney disease are eligible for Medicare. Learn more about how to apply for Medicare.
Medicaid for Adults
What help is available?
You may qualify for Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Am I eligible?
Each state has different rules about eligibility and applying for Medicaid for adults. Learn more about eligibility.
How do I apply?
Each state has different application requirements for Medicaid for adults. Call your state Medicaid program to see if you qualify and to learn how to apply.
Health Insurance Through the Health Insurance Marketplace
What help is available?
HealthCare.gov helps you find insurance options, compare care, learn about preventive services, and more. If your employer does not offer insurance, you are self-employed, or you prefer to purchase your own insurance, you and your family can get health, dental, and vision insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Am I eligible?
Everyone is eligible for health insurance through the Marketplace. You may also qualify for subsidies to help pay your premiums. 2019 Open Enrollment runs from November 1, 2018, to December 15, 2018. If you’ve experienced certain life changes, like loss of a job or childbirth, you may be eligible to make changes to your health insurance in a Special Enrollment Period.
How do I apply?
How you apply for a plan in the Health Insurance Marketplace depends on what plan you choose. Learn more about applying.
How do I complain or where do I call for extra help?
Visit the Health Insurance Marketplace's top questions section for additional help with finding or applying for health care. To file a complaint, call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325).
Is there anything else I need to know?
If you need more help getting or paying for medical care, try these resources:
If you are uninsured or underinsured and must seek emergency medical treatment:
Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), you're guaranteed access to an emergency medical evaluation, even if you can't pay. The act requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding and that provide emergency services to evaluate anyone who comes to their emergency room and requests treatment. If the evaluation confirms that you have an emergency medical condition, including active labor, they are then required to provide stabilizing treatment for you regardless of your ability to pay.
Help with Prescription Drug Costs
Find government programs that can help you pay for prescription drugs.
What help is available to pay for prescription drugs?
Am I eligible for help with my prescription drug costs?
The requirements for each program vary by state. Your state human services agency or your local health center will determine your eligibility.
How do I apply for prescription drug assistance?
Your state human services agency or local health center will be able to help you with the application process. Applications and requirements vary in states and cities.
Where do I call for extra help with prescription drug costs?
If you need additional help finding the right program for you, or you want to make a complaint about a program, contact RXAssist.
Is there anything else I need to know about prescription drug costs?
Contact the pharmaceutical companies that make your prescription drugs or devices, and ask for any low-cost options, samples, or discounts,
Learn more about finding generic drugs to lower your costs.
Welfare or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federally funded, state-run benefits program. Also known as welfare, TANF helps families achieve independence after experiencing temporary difficulties.
What help is available through TANF?
Recipients may qualify for help with:
Food
Housing
Home energy
Child care
Job training
Each state runs its TANF program differently and has a different name.
Some tribal groups operate their own TANF programs.
Am I eligible for TANF?
Each state or tribal territory decides who is eligible for financial help, services, or other benefits.
You must be a resident of the state where you are applying.
How do I apply for TANF?
To sign-up for temporary benefits, you can:
How do I report TANF benefit fraud?
If you suspect possible welfare fraud, contact:
What else do I need to know about TANF?
If you receive TANF, you may be eligible to receive other government benefits.
Do you have a question?
Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They'll get you the answer or let you know where to find it.
Last Updated:
December 1, 2020
