Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Nonprofit acute care hospital in Torrance, CA.
Verified from the hospital's own policy
Torrance Memorial Medical Center likely gives free care to households with a yearly income up to $31,920 for 1 person, $43,280 for 2, $54,640 for 3, $66,000 for 4, $77,360 for 5 or $88,720 for 6. It likely gives a discount to households with a yearly income up to $71,820 for 1 person, $97,380 for 2, $122,940 for 3, $148,500 for 4, $174,060 for 5 or $199,620 for 6.
The hospital makes the final decision.
| People in household | Free care up to | Discount up to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $31,920 | $71,820 |
| 2 | $43,280 | $97,380 |
| 3 | $54,640 | $122,940 |
| 4 | $66,000 | $148,500 |
| 5 | $77,360 | $174,060 |
| 6 | $88,720 | $199,620 |
Discount steps
- 0% to 200% of poverty level, you pay $0 (Charity Care)
- 201% to 450% of poverty level, you pay Uninsured: 12% of total facility charges. Insured: the difference up to the Medicare allowed amount, or $0 if the health plan paid more than Medicare would
How to apply
- Call (310) 517-1010 and ask for financial assistance.
- Application form
- Torrance Memorial Medical Center Financial Assistance Policy (effective January 1, 2025)
- Bring recent tax returns or pay stubs (within 6 months before or after the first bill), a Health Savings Account statement may be requested.
- We do not have the deadline yet. Apply as soon as you get a bill, and ask the billing office to pause collections while you apply.
- Savings and property
- The policy looks at income only, not savings or property.
- Very large bills
- Out-of-pocket costs at the hospital over 10% of family income (current or prior 12 months); patients with unexpected high-cost care who do not otherwise qualify can ask for help at the Revenue Cycle Director's discretion
- Languages
- English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese
If you have insurance
Insured patients can also apply for help with deductibles and copays. Keep your insurance. Financial assistance covers bills from this one place only.
What is covered
- Covered
- Medically necessary services by Torrance Memorial and doctors contracted with it who must follow the policy.
- Not covered
- Independent doctors on the medical staff bill separately and may have their own programs. Emergency doctors must give their own discounts up to 400% of the poverty level. Non-medically necessary care is not covered.
State program in California
Hospital Fair Pricing Act (Health and Safety Code 127400 et seq.)
Every licensed general acute care, acute psychiatric, and special hospital in California must have a charity care policy and a discount payment policy. A patient can ask for help if they are uninsured (self-pay) or have high medical costs, and their family income is not more than 400% of the federal poverty level. Hospitals may choose to help people with higher incomes. With a discount, the bill is capped at about what Medicare or Medi-Cal would pay, whichever is greater. You can apply at any time, even after a bill goes to collections. Immigration status does not affect eligibility.
Income levels in the program are discount up to 400% of poverty level.
Applies to each licensed general acute care hospital, acute psychiatric hospital, and special hospital in California.
Apply to the hospital's financial assistance office. Each hospital's policies and applications are posted on its website and on HCAI's Hospital Fair Pricing Policy Lookup (https://hcai.ca.gov/affordability/hospital-fair-billing-program/hospital-fair-pricing-policy-lookup/).
Is a self-pay patient OR a patient with high medical costs; AND Patient's family income is not more than 400 percent of the federal poverty
Program source, checked 2026-11-10
Hospital Bill Complaint Program (HCAI)
A free state program at HCAI. If a hospital wrongly denied you financial assistance, did not tell you about its programs, or sent you to collections the wrong way, you can file a complaint online (English and Spanish) or by mail (many languages). You must have applied to the hospital first for HCAI to review an eligibility decision. If HCAI finds you paid too much, the hospital must refund you within 30 days. It covers problems on or after January 1, 2022. It does not handle general billing disputes, price transparency, Good Faith Estimates, or bills from emergency room doctors.
Applies to complaints about any hospital covered by the Hospital Fair Pricing Act.
File online through the Patient Complaint Portal (https://hcai.ca.gov/affordability/hospital-fair-billing-program/hospital-bill-complaint-program/should-i-file-a-complaint/) or mail the Patient Complaint Form to Department of Health Care Access and Information, Hospital Bill Complaint Program, 2020 West El Camino Avenue, Suite 1101, Sacramento, CA 95833.
If you believe you were wrongly denied financial assistance, you may file a complaint with the Hospital Bill Complaint Program.
Program source, checked 2026-11-10
Emergency physician discount rule
Most hospital policies cover only the hospital's own bill. Emergency room doctors often bill separately. California law also requires an emergency physician to give discounts to uninsured patients and patients with high medical costs whose family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. Ask the doctor group's billing office for its discount policy. HCAI's complaint program does not handle emergency doctor bills.
Income levels in the program are discount up to 400% of poverty level.
Applies to emergency physicians who provide emergency medical services in a California hospital that provides emergency care.
Ask the emergency physician group named on the bill for its discount payment policy.
an emergency physician who provides emergency medical services in a hospital that provides emergency care is also required by law to provide discounted care
Program source, checked 2026-11-10
Notes
Free care at or below 200% of the poverty level. From 201% to 450% you pay no more than Medicare or Medi-Cal would pay, whichever is greater. If you have no insurance and qualify, you pay 12% of the facility charges. If you have insurance, you owe at most the gap up to what Medicare allows. Patients with no insurance get an automatic self-pay discount without applying. You can apply at any time. Approval lasts 6 months and may be extended, but after 12 months you must apply again. Appeals go in writing to the Revenue Cycle Director, then the Chief Financial Officer. The plain language summary is printed inside the policy as Attachment A. The policy prints an effective date of January 1, 2025, and was signed for HCAI on 8/19/2025. HCAI's page shows 01/21/2026. The policy website (torrancememorial.org help-paying-your-bill page) returned an error (403) to our automated check, so we used the HCAI application copy.
Sources
- Free care level
Charity Care will be made available to patients whose family income is at or below 200% of FPL.
- Discount level
Patients whose income ranges between 201% to 450% of FPL qualify for a Discount Payment.
- Discount steps
For Uninsured patients, the patient’s responsibility will be 12% of total facility charges.
- Insured patients
For Underinsured patients, if the health plan pays more than Medicare would allow, then there will be no patient responsibility.
- Asset test
Assets, including monetary assets, will not be considered in determining eligibility.
- Very large bills
Annual Out-of-Pocket Costs incurred by a patient at the hospital that exceed the lesser of 10 percent of the patient’s current family income
- What is not covered
The Policy only applies to services provided by TMMC and by physicians who are contracted with TMMC
- Deadline
Patients may apply for Charity Care or a Discount Payment at any time.
- Documents
documentation of income shall be limited to recent tax returns or pay stubs of the patient and/or the Patient’s Family
- Languages
Free copies of this Summary, the Policy or the Application are available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
- Financial counseling phone
Call the Business Office at 310-517-1010 between 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday
Last checked. 2026-11-10
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