NEWS
Afraid of hospital bills? Local hospitals must help needy patients
Amy Neff RothUtica Observer Dispatch
Aug. 22, 2026, 5:05 a.m. ET
- As many New Yorkers lose or pay more for their health insurance, Attorney General Letitia James reminds New Yorkers that hospitals must offer financial assistance to needy patients.
- Her office has released guidace on who is eligible and how they can apply for free or discounted care from hospitals in the state.
- Local hospitals all include the cost of this charity care on their tax forms: $4.9 million for MVHS and $1.8 million for Rome Health in 2024, for example.
Struggling to pay a hospital bill?
New York State Attorney General Letitia James wants you to know help may be available. State law requires hospitals to provide financial assistance to patients who can’t afford them if they meet financial eligibility guidelines
“No New Yorker should have to choose between their health and their financial security,” James said in a statement. “As federal cuts strip health coverage away from hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, I urge anyone struggling to pay a hospital bill to use this guidance to understand their rights. Hospitals have a legal obligation to help patients who are eligible for financial assistance and no one should be pushed into medical debt because they did not know where to turn.”
James’ office recently released guidance on who qualifies for help and how they can apply. The guidance also includes information on financial protections for immigrants
Hospital patients may be eligible to have all charges waived if their household income is less than 200% of the federal poverty level. That’s less than $31,920 for a single person and $66,000 for a four-person household
Patients may be eligible for discounted care if their household income is between 200% and 400% of the federal poverty level. That’s up to $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a four-person household
Patients who have health insurance but meet those income qualifications may qualify if they’ve used up all their insurance benefits for the year or if they’ve spent more than 10% of their household income on out-of-pocket medical costs
Hospitals report the free care they give patients, often called charity care the IRS form filled out by nonprofits, called Form 990. Forms 990 for 2024 show how much net community benefit, or charity care, local hospitals provided that year:
- Mohawk Valley Health System: $4.9 million or 0.66% of total expenses.
- Rome Health: $1.8 million or 1.36% of total expenses.
- Oneida Health: $432,743 or 0.35% of total expense.
- Little Falls Hospital: $235,765 or 0.452% of total expenses.
- Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton: $291,464 or 0.42% of total expenses.
- Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown: $3.8 million or 0.453% of total expenses.
Because of cuts in the federal budget, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, New York has dropped the upper income limit for its Essential Plan for health coverage from 250% of the federal poverty level to 200% on July 1, James’ office noted
That meant an estimated 450,000 residents lost free coverage and had to shift to health marketplace plans with more out-of-pocket costs. With more New Yorkers facing more expensive health plans and coverage gaps, hospital financial aid could become a key protection keeping medical emergencies from causing crushing debt, a statement from James’ office said
Here are some rights that everyone should know about, according to James:
- Hospitals can’t deny emergency or medically necessary care because of an unpaid bill.
- They cannot limit financial aid based on a patient’s medical condition.
- They cannot ask about a patient’s immigration status when determining eligibility.
- Financial aid isn’t a public benefit so applying won’t affect immigration status.
- Hospitals are prohibited from reporting applicants to immigration authorities.
- Hospital bills cannot be sent to debt collectors while there is a pending financial aid application or for at least six month after the first bill is sent.
Applications can be filed at any time after a patient receives service using a standard form from the New York State Department of Health
Anyone who believes that a hospital failed to offer financial aid, improperly disqualified them or improperly sent a bill to a debt collector can call the attorney general’s Health Care Helpline at 1-800-428-9071.
