Do you qualify for hospital charity care?

Federal law, everywhere. Section 501(r) of the tax code requires every nonprofit hospital — which is most hospitals — to publish a written financial assistance policy, tell patients it exists, and limit what it charges anyone eligible under it. It sets no income threshold, so the hospital picks the line. This is the floor in all fifty states.

The hospital’s own policy. This is the document that actually decides your case, and it is the one worth reading. Thresholds cluster around free care to 200-300% of the poverty level and a sliding scale to 400%, but they range much further in both directions, and nearly all of them carry a hardship clause that ignores income entirely.

State law, in 15 places. A minority of states put a legal floor under the hospital’s policy — free or discounted care at or below a stated percentage of the poverty level. Where it exists it is a minimum, not a maximum, and the hospital’s own policy may still be more generous. The table below is the full list.

California. Widely and wrongly reported as free care to 400%. What the law actually guarantees is a price cap: at or below 400% of the poverty level the hospital may not collect more than it would have received from Medicare or Medi-Cal, whichever is higher. Free care exists at most California hospitals, but at a threshold the hospital chooses.

Colorado. No free-care tier. Instead eligible patients are charged a state-set discounted rate and monthly payments are capped at 4% of monthly household income for the hospital bill and 2% for each professional bill, with the balance forgiven after 36 payments. Colorado is unusual in binding the doctors as well as the hospital. Insured patients qualify but have to ask to be screened.

Connecticut. Not a charity care mandate in the ordinary sense — it is a price cap. A hospital may not collect from a qualifying uninsured patient more than its own cost of providing the care. There is no free-care tier and no sliding scale, and you must be uninsured and ineligible for Medicaid, Medicare and CHAMPUS.

Georgia. This is not a statewide right. It binds only hospitals that take Indigent Care Trust Fund money, so whether it reaches you depends on which hospital you went to. Between 125% and 200% the hospital may choose between free care and a sliding scale it designs itself.

Illinois. Uninsured patients only — an insured patient with a large deductible gets nothing from this Act. Rural and critical access hospitals use a lower scale (free to 125%, discounted to 300%). Above the free-care line the protection is a cap: no more than 20% of family income collectible in any twelve months.

Maine. New as of 1 July 2026, replacing a long-standing 150% rule — nearly every guide published before mid-2026 still says 150%. Above the free-care line, payment plans are capped at 4% of monthly family income up to 400% of the poverty level. Maine residency is required.

Maryland. Maryland also has a medical hardship route that applies where the debt exceeds 25% of annual family income, up to 500% of the poverty level. Hospitals must refund patients who were eligible but were billed anyway, so a bill you already paid is worth revisiting.

Massachusetts. Legally this is a state reimbursement pool rather than a command to the hospital: it bars participating hospitals from collecting from a determined low-income patient. The effect for you is the same, but patients between 150% and 300% owe an annual deductible first. Insured patients are covered.

New Jersey. New Jersey also applies an asset test, which most states do not: roughly $7,500 for an individual and $15,000 for a family. You can be under 200% of the poverty level and still be turned down on assets alone. Covers hospital charges, not private physician bills.

New York. Rewritten in 2024 and most published summaries are still on the old version. Charges are waived entirely below 200%. Between 200% and 400% the hospital may charge no more than a set share of the Medicaid rate. Assets and immigration status may not be considered, and you cannot be sued below 400%.

Ohio. The threshold is 100% of the poverty level, far lower than people expect, and there is no mandated discount band above it. It covers basic medically necessary hospital services for Ohio residents and excludes people on Medicaid. Your hospital's own policy will almost certainly be more generous than the state floor.

Oregon. Binds nonprofit hospitals and their affiliated clinics only, so a for-profit facility in Oregon is outside it. Minimum discounts above the free-care line are 75% to 300%, 50% to 350% and 25% to 400%. A hospital may not make you apply for Medicaid first before screening you.

Rhode Island. The 200-300% band has no minimum generosity — the hospital picks the discount, so a 5% reduction is compliant. Rhode Island residency is required, an asset test is permitted, and it reaches uninsured people who are not eligible for other coverage.

Vermont. The strongest protection in the country for insured patients: at or below 250% your out-of-pocket costs are waived outright, and 250-400% gets at least 40% off. Separately, anyone up to 600% whose bills exceed 20% of household income must have them cut back to that level.

Washington. Two tiers. At a large system (three or more acute hospitals, or a big hospital in a populous county) care is free to 300% and discounted to 400%. At every other hospital it is free to 200% and discounted to 300%. The figures here are the large-system tier, so check which one your hospital is in.

North Carolina is a special case and is not counted above. It is not a statute — it is a programme hospitals join in exchange for higher Medicaid payments. Participation is voluntary, tied to enhanced Medicaid payments rather than commanded by statute — but all 99 acute care hospitals opted in, so in practice it covers the state. Discounts of 50-100% at or below 300% of the poverty level, with automatic qualification if your household gets SNAP, WIC or Medicaid. Details →

Indiana (Ind. Code ch. 16-21-9) — Nonprofit hospitals must adopt a community benefits plan and publish notice of any charity care programme and how to apply. No mandated income threshold or write-off level.

Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 144.587) — Hospitals must screen you for charity care and help you apply, and may not impose unreasonably burdensome procedures — but the statute sets no income threshold, so the hospital defines who qualifies.

Nevada (NRS 439B.260; NRS 439B.320) — Often listed as a charity care state, but neither provision turns on your income. Major hospitals must discount billed charges by at least 30% for uninsured inpatients regardless of income, and separately must provide free care worth 0.6% of prior-year net revenue — a volume quota, not a patient entitlement.

New Mexico (Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act, NMSA §§ 57-32-1 to -11) — Strong on collections, silent on the price. At or below 200% of the poverty level you cannot be sued, garnished, liened or sold to a debt buyer, and you must be screened — but the hospital is not required to reduce the bill itself.

Texas (Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 311.045-311.046) — Nonprofit hospitals must publish a charity care policy and meet a community benefit volume standard, but there is no statewide income entitlement. County indigent care under chapter 61 is a separate, county-run programme with a much lower threshold.

Utah (Utah Code §§ 26B-1-243, 26B-1-244) — Nonprofit hospital systems must publish a financial assistance policy and report uncompensated care. The 400% figure that appears in the bill defines what counts as financial assistance for reporting; it is not an eligibility floor you can claim.

Virginia (Va. Code § 32.1-137.01) — Hospitals must post their charity care policies. State law sets no minimum income threshold.

Coming. Delaware (SB 13 (2026), 16 Del. C. ch. 99 subch. VII), in force 2027-01-01. Not yet enforceable, so it is not counted above.

This is a reference tool, not legal advice and not a determination. Only the hospital can decide an application, against a policy this page has not read. State law changes — every figure here carries the statute it came from so you can check it, and Maine’s threshold changed as recently as July 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.