Nonprofit hospitals must have a financial assistance program. Many patients never hear about it.
We collect each hospital’s financial assistance rules, turn the income cutoffs into dollars, and show where each number comes from. It is free to use.
Examples, not real patients. Based on Rhode Island Hospital’s policy.
Hospitals we cover
Hospital names and logos are shown to identify them. These hospitals do not endorse HospitalAid.
Your nearby hospitals, with the cutoffs in dollars.
Answer four questions. The math runs on this page.
Check hospitals near you
A rough number for income is fine.
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How it works
From the bill in your hand to an application. We list 5,250 hospitals and 1,590 health center organizations, and every page shows where its numbers come from.
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Answer four questions.
ZIP code, household, income, insurance.
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See nearby hospitals.
Each with its income cutoffs in dollars, when we have found them.
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Call or apply.
Call the billing office or open the application.
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Apply, even after the bill.
Nonprofit hospitals take applications for at least 240 days after the first bill.
The help exists. Many patients are never told.
A federal rule, IRS 501(r), requires every nonprofit hospital to have a financial assistance policy. Each hospital sets its own cutoffs, and they differ a lot.
The bill
After applying for financial assistance
An uninsured 33-year-old fainted in a store and went to Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital in Texas with a concussion. The ER bill was $38,000, more than she earns in a year. The hospital first cut it to about $11,000. About a week after she applied for financial assistance, it wiped out the rest. KFF Health News, Oct 15, 2026
Why we made this
Many people with a hospital bill never learn the hospital has a program to help. Each hospital keeps its rules in a long policy document, with its own cutoffs. We read them and put the numbers in one place, each with its source.
Nobody pays us today. HospitalAid is a new project, and it is free for patients.
Patients will never pay. Later, hospitals may pay for tools to keep their own page current. They can’t pay to change the numbers.
Built so your AI assistant can read it
If you already ask an assistant for help with bills, point it here. There are three ways.
Add the connector.
Add
https://hospitalaid.org/mcpto an assistant that supports connectors. The address works once the server launches.Paste a prompt.
Copy the one on the card, fill in the blanks, and send it.
Read the Markdown copy.
Every hospital, health center, state and metro page has a plain Markdown copy an assistant can read.
I have a bill from [hospital name]. Use hospitalaid.org to check whether I might get free or discounted care. My household has [number] people and makes about [income] a year.
Questions people ask
Straight answers about how this works and what it can and cannot do.
No. Keep your insurance. Financial assistance covers one hospital’s bills. It usually leaves out doctors who bill separately, prescriptions, and every other hospital.
Keep it. Some hospital policies also help insured patients with what insurance leaves, like a deductible. When a policy says so, we show it.
HospitalAid is a new project. Nobody pays us today. Later, hospitals may pay for tools to keep their own page current. They can’t pay to change the numbers.
The hospital makes the final decision. A “likely” result means your income is under the cutoff in the hospital’s policy, so it is worth applying.
You can still apply. Nonprofit hospitals must accept applications for at least 240 days after the first bill.
The federal rule covers nonprofit hospitals. Some states have their own programs that also reach for-profit hospitals. We show what applies, with its source.
Email corrections@hospitalaid.org with the page address and a link to where you saw the right answer. Every hospital page also has a “Tell us” link.
Holding a bill? Start with four questions.
See which hospitals near you likely help, and the income cutoffs in dollars.