Illinois charity care
This state's rules reach every hospital in the state, whatever its tax status. Below: the five things that decide your bill in Illinois — the free-care line, the discount line, whether the hospital must screen you, your application window, and your credit-report protection — each with its source.
The law: Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act — 210 ILCS 89; Fair Patient Billing Act — 210 ILCS 88
Figures marked from statute, regulation, or agency text read directly in our research pass. Checked October 19, 2026.
Illinois law covers insured patients too through the Fair Patient Billing Act's billing and collection limits — the uninsured discount numbers above are the statute's floor, not the ceiling.
| Household size | Poverty guideline | Free-care line | Discount line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,960 | $31,920 200% | $95,760 600% |
| 2 | $21,640 | $43,280 200% | $129,840 600% |
| 4 | $33,000 | $66,000 200% | $198,000 600% |
| 6 | $44,360 | $88,720 200% | $266,160 600% |
Guidelines: 2026 HHS Poverty Guidelines (Federal Register, January 2026). Lines shown use Illinois's statutory percentages where the state sets them; "typical policy" marks the most common hospital-policy lines where it doesn't. Your hospital's policy is the deciding document — the kit shows you how to get it and read it.
At any nonprofit hospital in Illinois: a written financial assistance policy must exist and be publicized; you have 240 days from the first post-discharge bill to apply; no extraordinary collection actions for 120 days or while a complete application is decided; charges for eligible patients are capped at amounts generally billed; and money paid above what you owed comes back when a submitted application is approved. The full plain-words version.
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.
Free care reaches 200% of the poverty guidelines under Illinois law — $66,000 a year for a household of four in 2026. The hospital decides individual cases from the application.
The federal period controls: 240 days from your first post-discharge billing statement, with no extraordinary collection actions in the first 120 days.
Yes — Illinois law (effective January 1, 2025) keeps medical debt off credit reports (NCLC tracker, September 2026).