What it is
If you can’t afford a hospital bill, you have real options — hospitals are required to help.
- HCAP (Hospital Care Assurance Program) — under Ohio law, every Ohio hospital must provide basic, medically necessary hospital services free of charge to Ohio residents at or below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines who don’t have Medicaid. Ask the hospital’s billing or financial counseling office for an HCAP application — before or after care, even after a bill arrives.
- Hospital charity care — on top of HCAP, nonprofit hospitals must offer their own financial assistance. In Cleveland: Cleveland Clinic gives free care to families up to 250% of the poverty guidelines and discounts up to 400% (855-831-1284); University Hospitals gives free care up to 250%, discounts up to 400%, and caps bills as a share of income above that (866-771-7266; apply within 240 days of your first statement); MetroHealth offers its own sliding-scale assistance as well.
Don’t ignore the bill
Apply even if you have insurance — these programs cover the underinsured too, including high deductibles. And if the bill is from care in the last 3 months, we’ll also check whether retroactive Medicaid can cover it entirely.
How Gesher helps
Hospital financial assistance forms ask for the same documents as a Medicaid application — bring us the bill and we’ll pursue every avenue at once: HCAP, the hospital’s own program, retroactive Medicaid, and a payment plan as the backstop.