Federal, exists in every state
Ask the hospital to reduce your bill
Hospital financial assistance can reduce bills left after insurance, or bills when your child has no insurance.
What it is
Hospital financial assistance can reduce bills left after insurance, or bills when your child has no insurance.
Intermountain’s policy includes Primary Children’s Hospital. It can reduce the hospital’s own charges even when your family has insurance. Bills from other clinicians may follow a different policy, so the financial counselor checks each account.
Intermountain’s policy
- The formal 2026 Intermountain policy names Primary Children’s and includes eligible insured patients. Attachment B gives hospital discounts/clinic copayments of 100%/$0 through 250% of poverty; 95%/$25 at 251–300%; 90%/$35 at 301–350%; 85%/$50 at 351–400%; 80%/$75 at 401–450%; and 75%/$100 at 451–500%. The hospital checks household, funding-source and service rules before approving eligible accounts.
- Above 500% of poverty, a hardship route applies when Intermountain medical obligations exceed 25% of annualized family income, subject to other eligibility requirements.
- Attachment B’s income and discount table is effective April 1, 2026. Your financial counselor can confirm the version governing each account and the current policy dates.
- For eligible Intermountain bills at Primary Children’s, approval generally lasts 12 months and can include eligible past accounts. Changed circumstances can require a new review. Another hospital’s approval period may differ.
What you get
- A 100% discount on eligible Intermountain charges through 250% of poverty.
- Discounts through 500% of poverty, with a separate hardship route above that line.
Federal hospital rules
- At tax-exempt hospitals, the application period runs at least 240 days after the first post-discharge bill. Extraordinary collection actions generally cannot begin for at least 120 days after that bill.
- Federal rules limit extraordinary collection activity during a timely assistance review. An approved application can require a refund of amounts paid above the assistance amount when the excess is $5 or more.
- Intermountain’s policy says collections are not attempted while financial-assistance eligibility is being determined and other funding sources are being pursued. Your social worker can help billing identify the affected accounts and confirm the hold in writing. This does not promise a pause for every outside creditor or during every appeal.
- Federal section 501(r) applies to a facility operated by a qualifying tax-exempt organization. The financial counselor can confirm the current operator and tax status for your facility. Inclusion in Intermountain’s policy alone does not establish that status.
If you decide to apply
- If you choose an assistance review, ask your hospital financial counselor about the application and the bills it can cover.
- Bring income records, insurance statements and account numbers, including any bills already paid or in collections.
- Ask how collections will be handled during review and request the answer in writing.
Primary Children’s financial assistance, 866-415-6556 · Official page ↗
The decision
- The counselor’s written decision identifies the discount, covered accounts and dates. The office can explain a denial or whether a hardship review is available.
Good to know
A hospital bill and a separately billed doctor’s charge may receive different assistance. The counselor can check both.
Other bills and rights
- A written Primary Children’s financial-assistance appeal is due within 90 days of the decision. The policy covers eligible Intermountain facility and participating clinician charges; independently billed clinicians and outside services need a separate check. Your counselor can identify covered accounts, required records and whether collections stay paused during an appeal, and explain any additional Utah protections.
Official sources
“What are the benefits and drawbacks of requesting hospital assistance, and could you help us apply and check every bill it covers?”
Why I’m asking: I want the hospital to check our current income and patient bills before we agree 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 for the application, send proof of income, and do not pay or put a bill on a card while it is open.
Your social worker
The social worker connects you with the financial counselor. The counselor checks Medicaid and explains which providers the assistance covers.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The hospital's financial-assistance office under its written policy
- Ask the billing office
- “I would like to apply under the hospital's financial assistance policy. What is the income ceiling, which providers are covered by it, and can you hold collections while it is reviewed?”
How to apply
First step: Call the hospital's financial counselor, say “financial assistance policy”, and ask for the application, the income table and the list of covered providers.
- Call the financial counselor and say “financial assistance policy”.
- Ask which providers are covered by it.
- Ask for a collection hold while it is reviewed.
Where it starts: Apply to the hospital; the financial counselor checks Medicaid at the same time
What to gather
- Proof of household income (pay stubs or last tax return)
- The insurance card and recent explanation-of-benefits statements
- The bills or account numbers
How long: A decision within weeks of a complete application. A nonprofit hospital may not sue, report the debt or garnish wages for at least 120 days after the first bill after discharge, and holds collections while it decides.
What a yes looks like
A letter naming the discount percent and the period it covers (often 12 months). If you paid before the decision, a refund of the difference follows. Re-apply when it lapses.
What a no looks like, and the next move
“Over the income limit”: ask about the high-medical-expense branch, a prompt-pay discount and an interest-free plan. Then go to bill negotiation.
Watch out
- Apply before paying if you can. If you already paid, apply anyway: within 240 days of the first bill after discharge, an approved application means the hospital refunds what you paid above the assistance amount ($5 or more).
- Doctors who bill separately (anesthesia, radiology, some oncologists) may not be under the hospital's policy. Ask which providers are covered.
- Insured families count too: some hospitals have a high-medical-expense branch that discounts at any income when bills pass a share of income.
Each hospital’s own policy
The federal rule sets the floor; each hospital’s policy sets the actual numbers. “Unknown” means the policy could not be read yet: call the number and ask.
| Hospital | Free care up to | Discounts up to | Insured families | Financial counselor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Children's Hospital · policy | 250% FPL | 500% FPL | yes | 866-415-6556 |
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 8, 2026.
What it is worth
The hospital's own bill reduced or written off entirely under its published schedule. Collections held while the application is open.
- Discount or charity write-off — Discount or charity write-off
- $240 (at least; a policy can allow longer) — Days to apply after the first bill after discharge
- $120 (at least) — Days after that first bill before the hospital can sue, report the debt or garnish wages
- $5 (refunded when $5 or more) — Refund of what you paid above the assistance amount
Legal protection: A written policy and application, published · Limits on collection actions while the application is reviewed · At a nonprofit hospital, an application filed within 240 days of the first bill after discharge must be taken (federal rule) · No lawsuit, credit reporting, wage garnishment or sale of the debt for at least 120 days after that first bill · If you already paid and the application is approved, the hospital refunds what you paid above the assistance amount ($5 or more)
What it costs the family: Free application.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Tax exempt hospital for federal floor
- yes
- Policy specific
- yes
- Insured patients
- often eligible; some policies add a high-medical-expense branch at any income; a children's hospital policy often reaches families at 400% of the poverty line and above
- Federal 501r floor
- nonprofit (tax-exempt) hospitals: application period runs to at least the 240th day after the first post-discharge bill; no extraordinary collection actions for at least 120 days after that bill; refund of amounts paid above the assistance amount when $5 or more
Decisions this site cannot make: Hospital policy eligibility
Expect friction on: Separately billing physicians · Documentation · Application deadlines
The trap: Paying first and then not applying. If you already paid and the application is approved in time, the hospital must refund what you paid above the assistance amount ($5 or more). Doctors who bill separately may not be under the hospital's policy.
What changes by state: Some states set minimum hospital discounts, including California. Your hospital sets its own assistance limits and provides a financial counselor.
Where I read this
- Financial Assistance Policies for Tax-Exempt Hospitals — Internal Revenue Service, read August 27, 2026
- 26 CFR 1.501(r)-1: Definitions (financial assistance application period) — GovInfo (CFR 2025), read September 8, 2026
- 26 CFR 1.501(r)-6 and -7: Billing and collections; effective dates — GovInfo (CFR 2025), read September 8, 2026
- IRS: Billing and collections — section 501(r)(6) — Internal Revenue Service, read September 8, 2026