If You Have a Bill
California's Hospital Fair Pricing Act limits the amount hospitals can charge self-pay patients.

Stop or Prevent Collections

150 Day Rule

If you are uninsured or give the hospital information that you may have high medical costs, the hospital is not allowed to send you to collections or sue you within 150 days (5 months) of the first billing, even if you are not eligible for their Fair Pricing discount.

Protection While Applying, Appealing and Negotiating

The hospital is also not allowed to send you to collections or sue you if you are:

  • in the process of applying for the Fair Price discount or charity care, and trying in good faith to negotiate a reasonable payment plan or making regular partial payments of a reasonable amount;
  • in the process of appealing a denial of coverage with your health insurance company, disability insurance company, Medi-Cal or Medicare.  In this case, the hospital may not sue or report you to a credit reporting agency until a final determination is made.

If a hospital sends you to collections or sues you in any of these circumstances, they are breaking the law and you can use this to defend a lawsuit or clean up your credit report.

Additional Protections for Qualified Patients

If you qualify for the Fair Price discount, the hospital may not:

  • charge interest as part of your payment plan,
  • garnish your wages, except after a court hearing at which you have a chance to show you can't pay, or
  • put a lien on your primary home.

How to Stop Collections

If you have been sent to collections without being given an opportunity to apply for a hospital discount, or in fewer than 150 days from the date of your first bill, call the hospital billing office to request that all collection activity be stopped until a determination of financial assistance is made.

Ask for the name and fax number or email of the person you speak with and follow up by faxing or emailing a letter to that person right away to ask them to stop collections and let you apply for a discount. Click here for a sample "Stop Collections" letter to the hospital. 

Also call the collection agency to ask them to stop all collection activity until a determination of financial assistance is made. Follow this phone call with a fax or email saying who you spoke with and what they said. Click here for a sample "Stop Collections" letter to a collection agency.

Limits on Abusive Practices by Debt Collectors

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sets additional limits on what collection agencies can do to collect a debt, but a growing number of consumers are experiencing abuses of the law. 

For example, debt collectors are not allowed to tell your family members or co-workers about your debt unless that other person is your spouse, attorney or co-signer. They may call neighbors or relatives in their attempts to contact you, if they don't know where you live.  But they may not say they are calling to collect a debt.  And once they find you, those calls should stop.

Liens

If your hospital bills result from injury caused by a third party (e.g., an auto accident or assault), the hospital may not place a lien against any funds you receive in settlement for the accident, even if you are uninsured, except in certain limited circumstances. 

For more information on the law governing liens against third-party payments see http://www.mhalaw.com/mha/newsroom/legalAlerts/HealthCareBulletin8_09.pdf 

If you are being sued, you should seek legal advice from your local Health Consumer Center or other legal assistance organization. 

When a Hospital Violates the Law

If your hospital violates the law, help bring them into compliance by filling out a short complaint form online with the California Department of Public Health, Office of Hospital Licensing, at https://hfcis.cdph.ca.gov/LongTermCare/ConsumerComplaint.aspx

Additional Resources: