Help with medical bills difficult to access despite hospital charity rules, study finds

Most U.S. hospitals offer some relief to patients who struggle to pay their bills. These charity care or financial assistance programs can cover all or part of the cost of an outstanding medical bill.

The catch? Hospitals and health systems themselves largely decide how their programs work and who qualifies, which can limit access to this help. That variance also creates a patchwork of eligibility criteria across providers.

In Pennsylvania, a patient from a four-person household with a total income of $96,450 (three times the current federal poverty guideline) could be eligible for free care at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York. Meanwhile, Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia might forgive half of their bill, and Allegheny Health Network would require that person to meet “medical hardship” criteria to qualify for assistance.

Researchers crunched the numbers on this lack of standardization in a recent Health Affairs study, comparing policies at 2,989 nonprofit acute care hospitals across the United States.

https://www.wesa.fm/health-science-tech/2025-03-24/medical-bills-payment-hospital-charity

Medical bills paying for spas and stadiums.