Medical bills in Illinois: free care, credit reports and your rights
Illinois has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 600% of the federal poverty level (the exact level depends on the hospital and your situation).
Illinois law bans medical debt from credit reports.
Charity care means free or discounted care for people with low income. Hospitals also call it financial assistance.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
Federal rules for nonprofit hospitals apply in every state. Free help can review your bill.
Can I get my bill reduced in Illinois?
Illinois has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 600% of the federal poverty level (the exact level depends on the hospital and your situation).
| Income (% of poverty level) | What you get | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 200% | Free care | If you are uninsured and your family income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, the hospital must give you a 100% discount (free care) for medically necessary care over $150 in one hospital stay or visit. Hospitals other than rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals |
| 201% to 600% | Discount | If you are uninsured and your family income is above 200% and up to 600% of the federal poverty level, the hospital must give you the uninsured discount for medically necessary care over $150 in one stay or visit. The discount is set by a formula based on the hospital's own costs. Hospitals other than rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals |
| Up to 125% | Free care | If you are uninsured and your family income is at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, a rural hospital or Critical Access Hospital must give you a 100% discount (free care) for medically necessary care over $300 in one stay or visit. Rural hospitals (outside a metropolitan statistical area) and Critical Access Hospitals |
| 126% to 300% | Discount | If you are uninsured and your family income is above 125% and up to 300% of the federal poverty level, a rural hospital or Critical Access Hospital must give you the uninsured discount for medically necessary care over $300 in one stay or visit. Rural hospitals (outside a metropolitan statistical area) and Critical Access Hospitals |
These are the income levels written in the law. Each hospital decides using its own policy.
- The law
Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act and Fair Patient Billing Act
- Which hospitals
All hospitals licensed in Illinois, including for-profit hospitals, and the University of Illinois Hospital. Hospitals that do not charge for their services are exempt.
- Who can get help
The required discounts are for uninsured Illinois residents (no health insurance, public coverage, workers' compensation or other third-party coverage). Moving to Illinois only to get health care does not count as residency.
- The most you can be charged
If you qualify for the uninsured discount, the hospital may not collect more than its charges minus the uninsured discount. The discount formula is based on the hospital's cost-to-charge ratio multiplied by 1.35, so the price is tied to the hospital's costs.
- Deadline to apply
The hospital must let you apply for a discount within 90 days of the date of discharge or service, the date the hospital finished screening you, or the date an application for public health coverage was denied. If you do not send requested documents within 30 days, the hospital can stop processing, but the file can be reopened within 90 days of discharge, service or screening.
Law: 210 ILCS 89/5, 89/10, 89/15; 210 ILCS 88/15, 88/16, 88/27
Check your income level
Find out what percent of the federal poverty level your household income is, and compare it with the income levels in Illinois law.
Is my debt too old in Illinois?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 10 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 5 years |
A lawsuit on a written contract or other written evidence of debt must be filed within 10 years. A lawsuit on an unwritten contract, express or implied, must be filed within 5 years. Illinois law has no separate time limit named for open accounts.
- What can restart the clock
For written debts, a payment or new promise to pay made in writing starts a new 10-year period from that date.
Law: 735 ILCS 5/13-205, 5/13-206
A time limit to sue can differ by kind of agreement, and when it starts and what restarts it can differ; a court decides.
Can they sue me or report it in Illinois?
- Credit reports
Full ban
A credit bureau may not make a credit report that contains adverse information it knows or should know is about medical debt or a collection action for medical debt, and may not keep information about your medical debt in your file.
- Waiting rules
Before a hospital or its agent may send an uninsured patient's bill to a collection agency or law firm, it must screen you, apply any discount you qualify for, and give you a chance to check the bill, apply for financial assistance and get a reasonable payment plan. You must have had at least 90 days after discharge or outpatient care to apply for financial assistance when you may qualify. For insured patients, the hospital must offer you a chance to ask for a reasonable payment plan, open for 90 days after the first bill, before sending the bill to collections. If you ask for a plan but no plan is agreed within 90 days of your request, the hospital may proceed. To keep these protections, you must give requested information within 30 days and tell the hospital within 30 days about a major change in your finances.
- Liens on your home
Starting January 1, 2027, a judgment for unpaid medical debt cannot create a lien on the home that is your primary residence, and a hospital that sues you for medical debt may not file for or get a lien on your primary residence.
- Wage garnishment
General Illinois limit (stricter than federal): a wage deduction order can take no more than the lesser of 15% of your gross weekly wages or the amount of weekly disposable earnings above 45 times the federal or Illinois minimum hourly wage, whichever wage is higher.
- Lawsuit rules
A collection agency, law firm or person may not sue you over a hospital bill without written approval from an authorized hospital employee who believes the conditions for collection were met. A hospital may not sue an uninsured patient who has clearly shown not having enough income or assets to pay and who cooperated with the hospital. A hospital may not bill an uninsured patient whose screening shows income low enough for free care. Collection agencies and law firms working for hospitals must agree in writing to follow these rules.
Law: 210 ILCS 88/30, 88/35, 88/40, 88/45; 735 ILCS 5/12-101, 5/12-803
Payment plans and interest in Illinois
- Hospitals must offer a payment plan
Before collections, a hospital must offer an uninsured patient who says they cannot pay in one payment a reasonable payment plan, and must offer insured patients the chance to request one for the amount they owe. A reasonable payment plan must take into account your available income and assets, the amount owed and any payments already made. The hospital may ask for reasonable proof that you cannot pay in full at once.
Law: 210 ILCS 88/10, 88/30
Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Illinois
- State law
Illinois Insurance Code Section 356z.3a (billing for emergency services and nonparticipating providers)
- Which plans it covers
Individual and group health insurance and HMO plans regulated by the Illinois Department of Insurance. It does not cover self-funded employer plans, short-term plans or air ambulance.
- What it adds
For emergency care, and for care from an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility, you pay only your in-network cost sharing, and the provider, facility and insurer may not bill you more.
- Ground ambulance
The state protects you
Starting January 1, 2027, if you have state-regulated health insurance, plans must cover emergency and urgent ground ambulance services, and you pay no more out of pocket for an out-of-network ground ambulance than for an in-network one.
Law: 215 ILCS 5/356z.3a(b-10), (b-15)
Law: 215 ILCS 5/356z.3a; 215 ILCS 125/5-3
Itemized bills and price estimates in Illinois
Illinois law gives you a right to an itemized bill.
Every hospital bill must show the dates of service, a short description of services, the amount owed, a billing contact, and notice that you can get an itemized bill on request. If a hospital bills you, it must give you an itemized statement of charges when you ask. Hospitals must have a phone number for billing questions and disputes on every bill and collection notice, return calls within 2 business days and answer letters within 10 business days.
Law: 210 ILCS 88/20, 88/25
Price estimates
If a hospital charges a separate facility fee for outpatient services, it must have a policy to tell you as soon as reasonably practicable that you may be charged a facility fee, what it covers and whom to contact for more information.
Law: 210 ILCS 88/12
Health coverage and Medicaid in Illinois
Illinois Medicaid (HFS medical benefits) is Illinois's Medicaid program. Apply for it here:
Apply: Illinois Medicaid (HFS medical benefits) · 1-800-843-6154
Where to complain in Illinois
- Hospital bills and financial assistance: Illinois Attorney General, Health Care Bureau · 1-877-305-5145
A hospital did not give you a required discount, did not screen you, billed you wrongly or sent your bill to collections without following the Fair Patient Billing Act. - Health insurance: Illinois Department of Insurance, Office of Consumer Health Insurance · 1-877-527-9431
Problems with a state-regulated health insurance plan or HMO, including surprise bills and denials. - Debt collectors: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)
A licensed collection agency broke state collection rules. - Attorney general: Illinois Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division · 1-800-386-5438
Other consumer complaints, including credit reporting of medical debt.
Free help in Illinois
Free tools, letters and checklist
Good to know in Illinois
- Illinois's hospital discount rules cover for-profit hospitals too, not only nonprofit hospitals.
Law: 210 ILCS 89/5; 210 ILCS 88/70
- Hospitals must use a uniform financial assistance form from the Attorney General, and an approval is valid for at least 12 months after the first service date you applied for.
Law: 210 ILCS 88/27
- The Medical Debt Relief Act (P.A. 103-647, effective July 1, 2024) set up a state pilot program, run by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services through a nonprofit, to negotiate, settle and cancel medical debt of Illinois residents with household income at or below 400% of the poverty level or medical debt of 5% or more of household income; the Act is repealed on July 1, 2029.
Law: 305 ILCS 85/10, 85/15, 85/20
Changes in 2024–2026
January 1, 2024: P.A. 103-323 added required screening of uninsured patients and stricter pre-collection rules. July 1, 2024: the Medical Debt Relief Act created a medical debt relief pilot program. January 1, 2025: P.A. 103-648 barred credit bureaus from reporting medical debt; P.A. 103-901 barred billing uninsured patients who qualify for free care. August 15, 2025: P.A. 104-248 added ground ambulance protections for insured patients starting January 1, 2027. January 1, 2026: P.A. 104-181 added facility fee disclosure. June 26, 2026: P.A. 104-521 updated the uniform financial assistance application rules. Starting January 1, 2027: P.A. 104-490 bars liens on a patient's primary residence for medical debt judgments.
Law: HB 2719; P.A. 103-647, HB 5290; SB 2933; SB 2442; HB 2785; HB 1431; HB 5390; HB 4461
Questions about medical bills in Illinois
Does Illinois require hospitals to give free or discounted care?
Illinois has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 600% of the federal poverty level (the exact level depends on the hospital and your situation).
Can medical debt be reported to credit bureaus in Illinois?
Illinois law bans medical debt from credit reports. A credit bureau may not make a credit report that contains adverse information it knows or should know is about medical debt or a collection action for medical debt, and may not keep information about your medical debt in your file.
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Illinois?
A lawsuit on a written contract or other written evidence of debt must be filed within 10 years. A lawsuit on an unwritten contract, express or implied, must be filed within 5 years.
Can a medical debt lead to wage garnishment or a lien on my home in Illinois?
General Illinois limit (stricter than federal): a wage deduction order can take no more than the lesser of 15% of your gross weekly wages or the amount of weekly disposable earnings above 45 times the federal or Illinois minimum hourly wage, whichever wage is higher.
Am I protected from ground ambulance bills in Illinois?
Starting January 1, 2027, if you have state-regulated health insurance, plans must cover emergency and urgent ground ambulance services, and you pay no more out of pocket for an out-of-network ground ambulance than for an in-network one. Your cost sharing is the lesser of your plan's emergency room copay or coinsurance or 10% of the recognized amount.
Do I have a right to an itemized bill in Illinois?
Every hospital bill must show the dates of service, a short description of services, the amount owed, a billing contact, and notice that you can get an itemized bill on request. If a hospital bills you, it must give you an itemized statement of charges when you ask.
More help
Nearby states
Sources
- Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act, 210 ILCS 89/10
- 210 ILCS 89/15 (applications, documents)
- Fair Patient Billing Act, 210 ILCS 88/16 (screening)
- 210 ILCS 88/30 (pursuing collection action)
- 210 ILCS 88/20 (bill information, itemized statement)
- 815 ILCS 505/2EEEE (credit reporting; medical debt)
- 215 ILCS 5/356z.3a (surprise billing, ground ambulance)
- Public Act 104-0490 (HB 4461), liens on primary residence
- Public Act 104-0248 (HB 2785)
- Medical Debt Relief Act, 305 ILCS 85 (P.A. 103-647; HB 5290 enrolled)
- 735 ILCS 5/13-205, 13-206; 12-803
- Illinois Attorney General: Health Care
- Illinois Department of Insurance: File a complaint
- HFS: Applying for Medicaid
- 305 ILCS 85/15 (Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program)