Medical bills in Iowa: free care, credit reports and your rights

Iowa has no state charity-care law; nonprofit hospitals must still follow federal rules.

Iowa 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.

Can I get my bill reduced?Is my debt too old?Can they sue me or report it?Free help

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 Iowa?

Iowa 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 Iowa?

Kind of agreement	Time limit to sue
Written contract	10 years
Open account	5 years
Oral (spoken) agreement	5 years

A lawsuit on a written contract must be filed within 10 years. On an unwritten contract, and other actions not otherwise provided for, within 5 years.

What can restart the clock

A contract claim is revived by a written admission, signed by you, that the debt is unpaid, or by a similar written new promise to pay.

Law: Iowa Code 614.1(4), (5); Iowa Code 614.11

A time limit to sue can differ by kind of agreement, and when it starts and what restarts it can differ; a court decides.

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Can they sue me or report it in Iowa?

Credit reports

No state limit

Iowa has no state law that keeps medical debt off credit reports.

Waiting rules

Iowa has no state waiting period before a medical bill can be sent to collections or a lawsuit filed.

Wage garnishment

Iowa's general limit is stricter than federal law. Besides the federal limit, each judgment creditor may garnish only a yearly maximum based on your expected yearly earnings: $250 if under $12,000; $400 from $12,000 to under $16,000; $800 from $16,000 to under $24,000; $1,500 from $24,000 to under $35,000; $2,000 from $35,000 to under $50,000; and 10% of expected earnings at $50,000 or more. Support orders and some other debts are exceptions. No medical-debt-specific rule.

Law: Iowa Code 642.21

Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Iowa

Ground ambulance

No state limit listed

Iowa has no state limit on ground ambulance bills that we list here. The federal No Surprises Act generally does not cover ground ambulances either, so ask the ambulance company about financial assistance and a payment plan.

Health coverage and Medicaid in Iowa

Iowa Medicaid (including Iowa Health and Wellness Plan) is Iowa's Medicaid program. Apply for it here:

Apply: Iowa Medicaid (including Iowa Health and Wellness Plan) · 1-800-338-8366

Where to complain in Iowa

Health insurance: Iowa Insurance Division · 515-654-6600
A problem with your health insurance company, including a denied claim or a bill you think your plan should cover.
Attorney general: Iowa Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division · 515-281-5926
Unfair billing or collection practices by a business or debt collector.
Hospital licensing: Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), Health Facilities
A complaint about a licensed hospital or other health facility.

Free help in Iowa

Free tools, letters and checklist

Good to know in Iowa

Iowa limits how much of your wages one creditor can garnish each year, from $250 to 10% of expected earnings depending on your income.
Law: Iowa Code 642.21

Questions about medical bills in Iowa

How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Iowa?

A lawsuit on a written contract must be filed within 10 years. On an unwritten contract, and other actions not otherwise provided for, within 5 years.

Can a medical debt lead to wage garnishment or a lien on my home in Iowa?

More help

Nearby states

Sources

Sources

National rules that apply in every state

Nonprofit hospitals (federal rules)

Each nonprofit hospital must have a written financial assistance policy (FAP).

Law: 26 U.S.C. 501(r)(4); 26 CFR 1.501(r)-4

Before any ECA, the hospital must tell you about financial assistance and wait at least 120 days from the first bill sent after you left the hospital.

Law: 26 CFR 1.501(r)-6(c)(3)

You can apply for at least 240 days from the first bill sent after you left the hospital.

Law: 26 CFR 1.501(r)-1(b)(3)

If you apply during the application period, even with an incomplete application, the hospital and its collectors must stop starting or continuing ECAs until the hospital decides, or until you fail to send requested information within a reasonable time.

Law: 26 CFR 1.501(r)-6(c)(8)

Once you are found eligible, the hospital cannot charge you more than the amounts generally billed (AGB) to people with insurance for emergency or other medically necessary care, and must charge less than its full gross charges for other covered care.

Law: 26 U.S.C. 501(r)(5); 26 CFR 1.501(r)-5

Surprise bills (No Surprises Act)

With most private health plans (job-based plans, Marketplace and other individual plans), you are protected from surprise out-of-network bills for emergency care, for non-emergency care at an in-network hospital, hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgical center, and for air ambulance services.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 300gg-111, 300gg-131, 300gg-132, 300gg-135

For protected services, you can't be charged more than your in-network cost-sharing (copay, coinsurance, deductible).

Law: 42 U.S.C. 300gg-131, 300gg-132

Ground ambulance services are generally not covered by these federal protections, unless a state law has different rules.

Law: CMS, Know your rights when using insurance

If you don't have insurance or won't use it, providers and facilities must usually give you a written good faith estimate.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 300gg-136; 45 CFR 149.610

If one provider's or facility's bill is at least $400 more than its good faith estimate, you can use the federal patient-provider dispute resolution process.

Law: 45 CFR 149.620(a)(2)(ii), (c)(1)

Credit reports

A collection account generally cannot be reported for more than 7 years.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4), (c)(1)

For a veteran's medical debt (care authorized by the VA from a non-VA provider, or a bill the VA charged in error), nationwide credit bureaus may not report it until 1 year after the care, and may not report it once it is fully paid or settled, when they know it is a veteran's medical debt.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(7), (8); 15 U.S.C. 1681a

If a medical debt on your credit report is wrong, you can dispute it with the credit bureau for free.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)

Debt collectors

A debt collector must give you validation information about the debt, including the amount and how to dispute it.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.34

If you dispute the debt in writing within the validation period, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it sends you verification of the debt.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.38(c), (d)(2)

A debt collector must not sue or threaten to sue you on a time-barred debt, meaning a debt whose statute of limitations has run out.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.26(b)

Itemized bills and price lists

Your medical and billing records kept by a health care provider are part of your 'designated record set'.

Law: 45 CFR 164.501 (designated record set); 45 CFR 164.524(b)(2)

If Medicare paid for an item or service, you can ask the provider in writing for an itemized statement.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1395b-7(b)

Every hospital must post online a machine-readable file of all its standard charges, and a consumer-friendly list of at least 300 shoppable services (or an online price estimator tool).

Law: 45 CFR 180.40, 180.50, 180.60

Medicaid and Medicare

If you qualify for Medicaid, it can pay for covered care you got up to 3 months before the month you applied, if you were eligible then.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(34), 1396d(a); Pub. L. 119-21, sec. 71112 (July 4, 2025)

If you are in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, Medicare providers may not bill you for Medicare deductibles, coinsurance or copays for Medicare-covered care.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396a(n)(3)(B); CMS

If your health plan denies a claim

You must file an internal appeal within 180 days (6 months) of the notice that your claim was denied.

Law: 45 CFR 147.136(b); HealthCare.gov

After a final denial, you can ask for an external review by an independent reviewer within 4 months.

Law: 45 CFR 147.136(c), (d); HealthCare.gov

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