Medical bills in Indiana: free care, credit reports and your rights
Indiana has no state charity-care law; nonprofit hospitals must still follow federal rules.
Indiana has no state law that keeps medical debt off credit reports; the federal 7-year limit still applies.
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 Indiana?
Indiana has no state charity-care law. Nonprofit hospitals must follow the federal rules, and each hospital has its own policy: ask for it and for the application.
Is my debt too old in Indiana?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 6 years |
| Open account | 6 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 6 years |
A lawsuit on a promissory note or other written contract for the payment of money made after August 31, 1982 must be filed within 6 years. A lawsuit on an account or a contract not in writing must be filed within 6 years. Other written contracts have 10 years.
- What can restart the clock
A promise or acknowledgment of the debt counts only if it is in writing and signed by you.
- When the clock starts
After the cause of action accrues (the code does not say when that is for a medical bill).
Law: IC 34-11-2-7, 34-11-2-9(b), 34-11-2-11, 34-11-9-1
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 Indiana?
- Credit reports
No state limit
Indiana has no state law limiting medical debt on credit reports.
- Waiting rules
Before a hospital (or an organization with a financial relationship with it) sells or assigns your bill to a collection agency or sues you, it must make a reasonable effort to tell you about its payment assistance programs and give you an application form. For hospital bills for care after June 30, 2026 that are at least 120 days past due, a hospital, or a collector working for it, may not pursue collection unless the hospital is following Indiana laws on hospital financial reporting, nonprofit community benefit reports, notice of closing a service line and filing its federal Form 990. The Indiana Department of Health checks this twice a year and posts a list of noncompliant hospitals, and the Attorney General may suspend a noncompliant hospital's collections. This rule does not cover debt bought by or owed to a bank or other financial institution.
Law: IC 16-21-6, 16-21-9, 16-21-17.1, 16-21-19
- Lawsuit rules
For hospital bills for care after June 30, 2026, once the state has made a final finding that the hospital was out of compliance, you can raise that as a defense in a collection lawsuit during the period of noncompliance. If you are harmed by a violation, you can sue for actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000 and an order to stop the violation.
Law: IC 16-21-9.5-1, 16-21-9.5-6; IC 16-21-16-1 to 16-21-16-6
Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Indiana
- State law
Indiana out-of-network practitioner rules and ground ambulance payment law
Law: IC 27-1-45; IC 27-1-2.3; IC 27-1-45-8, 27-1-45-10
- Which plans it covers
Health insurance policies and HMO contracts regulated by Indiana. The ground ambulance rules do not cover the state employee health plan, Medicaid, or ambulance services owned or operated by a health system that bill under the health system.
- What it adds
For non-emergency care, an out-of-network practitioner who treats you at an in-network facility may not be paid more than your plan's network rate unless, at least 5 business days before the service, you got a separate written notice with a good faith estimate and signed it to agree to the higher charge.
- Ground ambulance
The state protects you
If your state-regulated health plan pays an out-of-network ground ambulance the amount Indiana law sets (the lowest of the local government's rate, 400% of the Medicare rate, or the ambulance's billed charge), that payment is payment in full.
Law: IC 27-1-2.3-0.5, 27-1-2.3-4, 27-1-2.3-8.1, 27-1-2.3-8.2, 27-1-2.3-8.3
Law: IC 27-1-45-8, 27-1-45-10; IC 27-1-2.3
Itemized bills and price estimates in Indiana
Indiana law gives you a right to a price estimate before scheduled care (see below). Itemized bill rights come from federal law.
Price estimates
If a nonemergency service has been ordered, scheduled or referred for you, you can ask the practitioner and the facility for a good faith estimate of the total price. They must give it within 2 business days after getting the information they need, for free, in writing, by email or online as you prefer. A facility's estimate must include the facility charges and the separate charges of doctors and others who may treat you there, including imaging, lab and other expected services. Estimates are not binding and are valid for 30 days. If you have insurance and the provider is in network, the estimate must use the negotiated price. These rules do not apply to Medicaid members.
Law: IC 25-1-9.8-11 to 25-1-9.8-14; IC 27-1-46-11 to 27-1-46-13
Health coverage and Medicaid in Indiana
Indiana Medicaid (including the Healthy Indiana Plan) is Indiana's Medicaid program. Apply for it here:
Apply: Indiana Medicaid (including the Healthy Indiana Plan) · 1-800-403-0864
Where to complain in Indiana
- Hospital licensing: Indiana Department of Health, complaints about health care facilities · 1-800-246-8909
A hospital did not give the required payment assistance notices or broke other hospital rules. - Attorney general: Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
A hospital or collector tried to collect while the hospital was barred from collecting, or other consumer and debt collection problems. - Health insurance: Indiana Department of Insurance, Consumer Services · 1-800-622-4461 or 317-232-2395
Problems with a state-regulated health insurance company, including out-of-network and ambulance bills.
Free help in Indiana
Free tools, letters and checklist
Good to know in Indiana
- Indiana's hospital price posting law requires hospitals to show, for shoppable services, the price with the maximum charitable assistance allowed under the hospital's financial assistance policy.
Law: IC 16-21-17-1
- The Attorney General can fine a hospital, debt collector or other third party up to $10,000 per violation of the 2026 medical debt collection restrictions and order restitution to patients.
Law: IC 16-21-16-5
- The Department of Health can fine a hospital up to $1,000 per violation of the payment assistance notice rules.
Law: IC 16-21-9.5-9
Changes in 2024–2026
2024: P.L. 163-2024 set payment rules for out-of-network ground ambulances under state-regulated plans and barred those ambulances from billing patients more than in-network cost sharing. 2026: P.L. 88-2026 required all hospitals to give notice of payment assistance programs and to notify patients before a collection action. P.L. 124-2026 barred hospitals that are out of compliance with state hospital laws from collecting medical debt incurred after June 30, 2026.
Law: IC 27-1-2.3-8.1 to 8.3; IC 16-21-9.5; IC 16-21-16
Questions about medical bills in Indiana
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Indiana?
A lawsuit on a promissory note or other written contract for the payment of money made after August 31, 1982 must be filed within 6 years. A lawsuit on an account or a contract not in writing must be filed within 6 years.
Am I protected from ground ambulance bills in Indiana?
If your state-regulated health plan pays an out-of-network ground ambulance the amount Indiana law sets (the lowest of the local government's rate, 400% of the Medicare rate, or the ambulance's billed charge), that payment is payment in full. The ambulance may not bill you for more, and your cost sharing may be no more than for an in-network ambulance.
More help
Nearby states
Sources
- Indiana Code Title 16 (2026), incl. IC 16-21-9, 16-21-9.5, 16-21-16, 16-21-17 (Indiana General Assembly)
- Indiana Code Title 27 (2026), incl. IC 27-1-2.3, 27-1-45, 27-1-46
- Indiana Code Title 25 (2026), incl. IC 25-1-9.8
- Indiana Code Title 34 (2026), incl. IC 34-11-2, 34-11-9
- Indiana Department of Health: Report a complaint
- Indiana Department of Insurance: File an insurance company complaint
- Indiana Medicaid: Apply for Medicaid