It doesn't really matter which category of medical expense you choose. Those categories are just to make it easier for you to tell if you've entered all your expenses. The categories are not filed and the IRS does not care about them. You can enter all your payments as hospital or medical payments. You can only take a deduction for the amount you actually pay in the year you pay it. If you paid $500 in 2017, that's what you enter in 2017.
You only receive a deduction for the amount of your medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income for the year.
