Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Michigan program

Help with a hospital bill (financial assistance)

Your hospital’s financial-assistance policy can reduce eligible bills, including some bills left after insurance.

What it is

Your hospital’s financial-assistance policy can reduce eligible bills, including some bills left after insurance.

It can reduce what insurance leaves, and a separate hardship route can apply to very large bills at any income.

Eligibility rules
  • Insured patients can be considered under Mott, Corewell, Bronson and UMH-Sparrow policies, subject to each policy’s terms.
  • If your child is uninsured and family income is under 250% of poverty, Michigan law caps what a hospital can charge at 115% of the Medicare rate. It is a cap on the bill, not free care.
What you get
  • A discount or full write-off of eligible hospital charges if the policy’s conditions are met.
  • A written explanation of the application and which bills it covers.
What the help covers
  • Bronson gives full help up to 200% of poverty, then 90%, 80% and 75% off up to 250%, 300% and 350%.
  • The Bronson policy description also includes possible full help for a partial-discount patient owing at least $10,000 on one admission, and separate review when out-of-pocket costs exceed 25% of gross annual income. Neither branch promises approval.
  • UMH-Sparrow’s January 2026 posted policy and February income appendix describe full help through 300% of poverty, subject to residence, resources and other conditions. Approval can cover 12 months and eligible earlier balances. Outside clinicians and rural-health-center services have separate scope rules.
  • Children’s Hospital of Michigan (DMC): call 888-730-3989 for the current income bands and which accounts an approval covers.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital financial counselor for the current written policy, application and covered-clinician list.
  2. Bring the bills, insurance statements and income information. Ask about a separate review for unusually large expenses.
  3. Request written confirmation of any collections hold while the hospital considers the application.

The hospital’s financial-assistance office · Official page ↗

If you decide to apply
  • Ask the counselor which records are missing and whether outside physician bills require separate applications.
  • At a hospital subject to federal section 501(r), extraordinary collection actions generally wait at least 120 days after the first post-discharge bill. The assistance-application period is at least 240 days from that bill. A further 30-day notice before extraordinary action can extend the practical deadline.
  • If you send an application in time, even an incomplete one, a nonprofit hospital must pause lawsuits and credit reporting until it decides and tells you in writing. Ordinary statements may keep coming.
  • The counselor can identify the billing entity, whether section 501(r) applies, and any broader policy protection. A written hold should identify covered accounts and actions. A request alone does not suspend every debt or a court response deadline.
Good to know

A hospital policy is not a promise that every separate doctor’s bill is covered. A collections hold needs confirmation.

Other details
  • The Michigan statutory cap is separate from a hospital’s charity policy and collection rules. It does not establish an insured-family discount, a general collections pause or coverage of every separately billing doctor. MDHHS or legal help can identify an enforcement route for a disputed bill.
  • Mott (MSupport) cancels eligible bills for families with income up to 300% of poverty and savings under $10,000 (retirement accounts under $100,000). Approval lasts 12 months and can cover earlier balances; transplant and cellular therapy get a separate review.
  • Corewell gives full help up to 250% of poverty, and a catastrophic review when a year’s out-of-pocket costs reach a quarter of income. DeVos: 844-838-3115; Royal Oak: 877-687-7309.

Federal background: Hospital financial assistance.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could the hospital reduce any bills we owe, including costs left after insurance? What are the limits and paperwork, and could you help with the application and collections-hold request if appropriate?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know which charges can be reduced before agreeing to a payment plan.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask in writing and keep the reply.

Your social worker

The financial counsellor supplies the policy and the application.

The care team

Nothing.

Who decides
The hospital.
Ask your social worker
“Can I have the hospital’s written financial-assistance policy and application, and can collections be held while it is decided?”

How to apply

First step: Write to the billing office asking for the financial-assistance policy, the application and a hold on collections.

  1. Ask the billing office in writing for the financial-assistance policy and the application.
  2. Ask for a hold on collections while the application is decided.
  3. If the child was uninsured, ask what the hospital says Michigan law requires.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask in writing for the policy, the application and a hold on collections.

What to gather

  • Every bill and statement
  • Dates the child had no insurance
  • The account number

How long: No statutory deadline was verified.

What a yes looks like

A written assistance decision identifies covered charges, reduction amounts and dates. Any collections hold should separately identify the accounts and actions covered.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which policy the decision used and whether an exception route exists for large bills.

Watch out

  • The 115%-of-Medicare cap at or below 250% FPL applies to qualifying uninsured patients at Medicaid-participating hospitals, not all insured balances or every clinician.
  • Ask for the hold on collections in the same letter as the application.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Michigan caps covered hospital charges for qualifying uninsured patients at 115% of Medicare when annual income is at or below 250% FPL; hospital charity policies may provide broader help.

  • $250 — Annual-income ceiling for qualifying uninsured patients under MCL 400.105d(2)
  • $115 — Payment-in-full limit at a Medicaid-participating hospital under MCL 400.105d(2)

Legal protection: Defined uninsured hospital charge cap under MCL 400.105d(2) · Financial-assistance and extraordinary-collection protections where the legal hospital entity and application meet section 501(r); a hospital policy may go further

What it costs the family: None to ask.

The eligibility facts, as published

Note
MCL 400.105d(2): qualifying uninsured patient, annual income at or below 250% FPL, Medicaid-participating hospital, payment cap 115% Medicare. Hospital charity policies and tax-status-dependent federal collection protections have separate conditions.

The trap: The state charge cap is not a free-care tier or an insured deductible benefit. It does not establish a universal collections pause, appeal deadline or coverage of every separately billing physician. Hospital policies and applicable federal rules are separate.

Where I read this

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