Charity care by state

Your state's rules, on one page each.

The federal floor (a policy must exist, 240 days, 120 days of quiet, capped charges) is the same everywhere. Everything above it — higher free-care lines, longer windows, hospitals that must screen you before billing, credit-report bans — is state law, and it varies more than anyone tells you. Figures below are the state's free-care and discount lines as a percentage of the federal poverty guidelines; "hospital policy" means the state sets no line and the hospital's own document decides.

StateFree care up toDiscounts up toHospital must screen?
AlabamaHospital policyHospital policy—
AlaskaHospital policyHospital policy—
ArizonaHospital policyHospital policy—
ArkansasHospital policyHospital policy—
CaliforniaHospital policy400%Yes
ColoradoHospital policy250%Yes
ConnecticutHospital policy250%—
Delaware300%400%Yes
District of Columbia200%500%Yes
FloridaHospital policyHospital policy—
Georgia125%200%—
HawaiiHospital policyHospital policy—
IdahoHospital policyHospital policy—
Illinois200%600%Yes
IndianaHospital policyHospital policy—
IowaHospital policyHospital policy—
Kansas100%Hospital policy—
KentuckyHospital policyHospital policy—
LouisianaHospital policyHospital policy—
Maine200%Hospital policyYes
Maryland200%300%Yes
Massachusetts150%300%—
MichiganHospital policyHospital policy—
MinnesotaHospital policyHospital policy—
MississippiHospital policyHospital policy—
MissouriHospital policyHospital policy—
MontanaHospital policyHospital policy—
NebraskaHospital policyHospital policy—
NevadaHospital policyHospital policy—
New HampshireHospital policyHospital policy—
New Jersey200%300%—
New Mexico200%Hospital policy—
New York200%400%—
North Carolina200%300%Yes
North DakotaHospital policyHospital policy—
Ohio100%Hospital policy—
OklahomaHospital policyHospital policy—
Oregon200%400%Yes
PennsylvaniaHospital policyHospital policy—
Rhode Island200%300%—
South Carolina200%Hospital policy—
South DakotaHospital policyHospital policy—
Tennessee175%Hospital policy—
TexasHospital policyHospital policy—
UtahHospital policyHospital policy—
Vermont250%400%—
Virginia200%Hospital policy—
Washington300%400%Yes
West VirginiaHospital policyHospital policy—
WisconsinHospital policyHospital policy—
WyomingHospital policyHospital policy—

Dataset: 51 jurisdictions × 5 cells (screening, free-care line, discount line, application window, credit-reporting rule), compiled from state statutes, regulations, agency publications, and named state trackers, checked October 19, 2026. Each state page carries its citations and says plainly where a figure rests on secondary sources. Where no state rule was found, the page says that too — a checked negative, not a gap we papered over.

Included in the $49 HospitalBillDecoded Kit

  • The application pack: how to get the policy and the form, the exact words to ask with, and what to do when the desk says no
  • Filling guidance, field group by field group — including income proof when pay stubs don't exist
  • The itemized-bill error checklist: the recurring errors, how to spot each one, and the dispute letter
  • Negotiation scripts for whatever is left after free care and error fixes
  • The deadline tracker for your 240-day window and 120-day shield
  • The escalation ladder: financial counselor, ombudsman, state attorney general, IRS Form 13909

Get the HospitalBillDecoded Kit — $49

One payment of $49. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — the application pack, the error checklist, the scripts, the deadline tracker, and the escalation ladder.