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

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Rhode Island program

Help with hospital bills (charity care)

Rhode Island requires licensed hospitals to offer free or discounted care to eligible uninsured residents.

What it is

Rhode Island requires licensed hospitals to offer free or discounted care to eligible uninsured residents.

A hospital bill can have a separate financial-assistance route. Rhode Island sets minimum standards for eligible uninsured residents. For an insured family, the hospital's own policy decides what additional help is available.

Eligibility rules
  • The state standard applies to eligible uninsured Rhode Island residents at licensed hospitals.
  • Hospitals may apply an asset criterion as well as the income test.
  • For insured or underinsured balances at Hasbro, ask Brown University Health’s financial counselor to check the current policy against your insurance, income, savings, residence and each bill. The statewide uninsured minimum does not decide an insured family’s result. Ask which hospital charges and separately billed clinicians are included, and request the answer in writing.
What you get
  • A full write-off for eligible uninsured residents at or below 200% of poverty.
  • A sliding discount above 200% and through 300% of poverty.
  • A written decision within 14 days of a complete application.
What this covers
  • Above the free-care band, the hospital's sliding scale sets the discount.
  • At Hasbro, bills are written off in full up to 200% of poverty. Above that, outpatient bills are cut by 90% (78% above 300%), and inpatient bills are reduced to a set hospital rate. The counselor works out the actual balance.
If you decide to apply
  1. Discuss the hospital’s financial-assistance rules with its financial counselor.
  2. If you decide to request a review, ask for help submitting the form, income records and any required savings information.
  3. Keep a copy and ask for the date the application is complete.

Hospital financial counseling; Brown University Health: 401-444-7850 · Official page ↗

What happens next
  • The 14-day decision period begins with a complete application.
  • The hospital makes the decision under a standard enforced by the Department of Health.
  • Brown’s application says approval lasts 12 months from its approval date. Its collections policy accepts financial-assistance applications for at least 240 days after the first post-discharge bill and bars extraordinary collection action before 120 days; timely applications suspend those actions during the assistance decision. Ask billing for written confirmation of the accounts covered and any pause, because ordinary statements and separate clinician bills are different.
Good to know

The state rule is for uninsured families, but Hasbro's own policy helps insured families with what insurance leaves. Ask, even with insurance, and again after Medicaid starts.

Other details
  • Hasbro’s full-help income comparison is 200% of poverty, but the hospital must confirm eligibility and which bills are included. Medicaid does not rule out an older or separate balance needing review; an out-of-state hospital has its own policy.

Federal background: A nonprofit hospital’s financial-assistance policy may also help eligible insured patients with remaining bills. Its policy and Rhode Island’s uninsured-care floor are separate.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could financial assistance reduce any hospital balance we owe, and are there limits for someone with our insurance? If it is worth applying, could you help us complete the form?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand which hospital charges might be reduced before we plan how to pay them.

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

Fill in the hospital's application and give proof of income.

Your social worker

The financial counsellor takes the application and answers within 14 days.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The hospital, under a state rule the Department of Health enforces.
Ask your social worker
“Can we apply for charity care under the state hospital standard, and can we have the decision in writing within 14 days?”

How to apply

First step: Ask financial counselling on 401-444-7850 for a charity-care application this week.

  1. Ask financial counselling for a charity-care application this week.
  2. Say plainly that you are asking under the state's hospital charity-care standards.
  3. Ask for the decision in writing, and note the 14 days.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the hospital's financial counsellor for a charity-care application, and name the state rule.

What to gather

The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.

How long: 14 days from a complete application under the state rule.

Watch out

  • Apply in writing and keep a copy; the 14 days run from a complete application.
  • The state line is written for uninsured residents, so an insured family should ask what the hospital's own policy gives.
  • A hospital is allowed to look at savings as well as income.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 10, 2026.

What it is worth

The whole bill written off for an eligible uninsured family at or under 200% of poverty, decided in 14 days.

Covers: Full write-off of the bill for an eligible uninsured resident at or under 200% of poverty · A hospital sliding discount above 200% and up to 300% · A written decision within 14 days of a complete application

Legal protection: Charity-care standards are a condition of every hospital's licence

What it costs the family: Free to apply.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
100% write-off up to and including 200% of poverty; a sliding discount above it to 300%
Insurance status condition
written for eligible uninsured residents; what an insured family gets is not settled by the rule
Resources
a hospital may apply an asset criterion
Processing standard
14 days on a complete application

The trap: The state floor is written for uninsured residents. It does not settle what an insured family gets, and the hospital's own current policy, which would answer that, could not be read. So an insured family with a huge balance should still apply, and ask for the answer in writing.

Where I read this

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