Medical bills in Maine: free care, credit reports and your rights
Maine has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
Maine 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 Maine?
Maine has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
| Income (% of poverty level) | What you get | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 200% | Free care | If your family income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, the hospital must give you free medically necessary care (charity care). Income is counted either as 4 times your last 3 months of income or as your actual income for the last 12 months. |
These are the income levels written in the law. Each hospital decides using its own policy.
- The law
Charity care and financial assistance programs provided by hospitals
Law: 22 M.R.S. § 1716-A; 22 M.R.S. §§ 1715, 1716-A
- Which hospitals
Hospitals in Maine, nonprofit or for-profit. Certain outpatient providers that offer imaging, lab, cardiac diagnostic, lithotripsy or ambulatory surgery services (including hospital-affiliated providers) must also give charity care under a policy consistent with the hospital rules.
- Who can get help
Maine residents (people living in Maine who intend to stay, or who came to Maine for a job or to look for work; not tourists or visitors). The law sets the free care line by family income.
- Deadline to apply
Maine law does not set an application deadline. Within 15 days after getting your application, the hospital must tell you what is missing and then give you at least 30 days to send it before denying for incompleteness. It must decide within 45 days after you send a complete application.
Law: 22 M.R.S. §§ 1715, 1716-A
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 Maine law.
Is my debt too old in Maine?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 6 years |
| Open account | 6 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 6 years |
Most civil lawsuits, including suits on contracts and accounts, must be filed within 6 years after the claim arises. A debt collector may not sue more than 6 years after your last activity on the debt.
- What can restart the clock
For debt collectors, once the 6 years have passed, a later payment, a written or spoken promise or other activity does not revive or extend the time to sue.
- When the clock starts
For debt collectors, the 6 years run from your last activity on the debt.
Law: 14 M.R.S. § 752; 32 M.R.S. § 11013(7)-(8)
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 Maine?
- Credit reports
Full ban
A credit bureau may not put medical debt on your credit report, and a health care provider you owe, a debt collector or a debt buyer may not report your medical debt to a credit bureau.
- Waiting rules
Before a debt collector sues you on a medical debt, it must have sent you a written notice saying it may not sue if your household income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, and given you at least 30 days to show your income. If a collector is told you may qualify for charity care, it must stop collecting until the hospital tells you and the collector that you don't qualify, and it may not collect at all from someone who qualifies (or would have qualified but had good cause not to apply).
- Interest
Debt collectors may not charge interest or any fee on a debt they know is medical debt, or suggest that interest or fees will be added. Interest may not be collected when a judgment lien on your main home for medical debt is enforced.
- Liens on your home
Your main home is exempt from attachment and execution for medical debt. A debt collector may not start an action to attach your main home for a medical debt judgment, and an execution against your main home may not be filed for a judgment based on medical debt.
- Wage garnishment
Wages cannot be garnished for a judgment based on medical debt. A debt collector may not start a wage garnishment for medical debt, and a court may not order one.
- Lawsuit rules
A debt collector may not sue on medical debt without proof that it sent the 300%-of-poverty notice and waited at least 30 days, and may not suggest it will sue on medical debt. A debt collector may not bring a collection case against you in small claims court.
Law: 32 M.R.S. § 11013(2)(Q)-(S), (3)(O)-(Q), (11)-(13), 11021; 9-A M.R.S. § 5-116-A(5)-(6); 14 M.R.S. §§ 4422(1)(F), 4655
Payment plans and interest in Maine
- Hospitals must offer a payment plan
- Monthly payment limit: 4% of your monthly income
If your documented family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, the hospital must offer you a payment plan with monthly out-of-pocket payments of no more than 4% of your monthly family income that is not protected from garnishment under state law.
Law: 22 M.R.S. § 1716-A(8)
Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Maine
- State law
Maine surprise bill and out-of-network emergency services law
- Which plans it covers
Health plans regulated by the Maine Bureau of Insurance. People in self-funded employer plans not covered by the state law can use the state dispute process for emergency and surprise bills.
- What it adds
For a surprise bill (care from an out-of-network provider at an in-network provider or during approved care, when you did not knowingly choose the out-of-network provider) or a bill for covered emergency care from an out-of-network provider, you pay only your in-network cost sharing, and the provider may not bill you more.
- Ground ambulance
The state protects you
If you have a state-regulated plan, ambulance services that are covered emergency services count as emergency services: you pay only your in-network cost sharing and the out-of-network ambulance provider may not bill you more.
Law: 24-A M.R.S. §§ 4303-C(2)(A), (D-1), (F), 4303-F; 22 M.R.S. § 1718-D(2)
Law: 24-A M.R.S. § 4303-C; 22 M.R.S. § 1718-D
Itemized bills and price estimates in Maine
Maine law gives you a right to an itemized bill within 30 days.
When you leave the hospital, it must tell you in writing that it will give you an itemized bill if you ask. You can ask at discharge or any time within 7 years after discharge, and the hospital must send it within 30 days of your request.
Law: 22 M.R.S. § 1712
Price estimates
If you are uninsured or self-pay, a health care provider must give you a good faith estimate of the total price on request, with separate prices for each part of the care and the procedure codes, and tell you about its financial assistance policy. If it did not give a required estimate, it may not send the bill to collections, sue you or report you to a credit bureau for that care. If you are insured, the provider must give you a description of the services and their codes on request so you can ask your insurer for a cost estimate.
Law: 22 M.R.S. §§ 1718-C, 1718-J
Health coverage and Medicaid in Maine
MaineCare is Maine's Medicaid program. Apply for it here:
Where to complain in Maine
- Hospital bills and financial assistance: Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification
A hospital did not follow the charity care or financial assistance rules, or you want to complain about a licensed hospital or facility. - Health insurance: Maine Bureau of Insurance, Consumer Health Care Division · 1-800-300-5000
Problems with a state-regulated health plan, including surprise bills, emergency or ambulance bills and denials. - Debt collectors: Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection · 1-800-332-8529
A debt collector or debt buyer broke Maine's medical debt collection or credit reporting rules.
Free help in Maine
Free tools, letters and checklist
Good to know in Maine
- Starting July 1, 2026, Maine hospitals must give free care to Maine residents with family income at or below 200% of the poverty level, up from 150% under the earlier rule.
Law: 22 M.R.S. § 1716-A(2); PL 2025, c. 488
- A hospital may not bill a patient who qualifies for financial assistance for a service its program does not cover unless it told the patient in advance.
Law: 22 M.R.S. § 1716-A(7)
- On January 9, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine ruled in Consumer Data Industry Association v. Frey (No. 1:19-cv-00438) that federal law did not preempt Maine's earlier medical debt reporting law for non-veterans, but that the law could not be enforced against nationwide credit bureaus as to the timing of reporting veterans' medical debt. The case concerned the 2019 version of 10 M.R.S. § 1310-H(4), before PL 2025, c. 201 (govinfo.gov, USCOURTS-med-1_19-cv-00438).
Changes in 2024–2026
August 9, 2024: PL 2023, c. 663 barred debt collectors from charging interest or fees on medical debt and required a 300%-of-poverty notice and 30 days before suing. September 24, 2025: PL 2025, c. 201 barred credit bureaus, medical creditors, collectors and debt buyers from reporting medical debt. July 1, 2026: PL 2025, c. 488 replaced the former charity care law with § 1716-A (free care up to 200% of poverty, application timelines, payment plans capped at 4% of income for incomes up to 400%, bill-dispute information, complaints). July 29, 2026: PL 2025, c. 649 barred liens and executions on a main home and wage garnishment for medical debt. By July 1, 2028, hospitals must offer an online charity care application. DHHS proposed a new rule 10-144 CMR ch. 150 on August 5, 2026 to carry out the 2025 law.
Law: 32 M.R.S. § 11013; 10 M.R.S. § 1310-H(4); 22 M.R.S. § 1716
Questions about medical bills in Maine
Does Maine require hospitals to give free or discounted care?
Maine has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
Can medical debt be reported to credit bureaus in Maine?
Maine law bans medical debt from credit reports. A credit bureau may not put medical debt on your credit report, and a health care provider you owe, a debt collector or a debt buyer may not report your medical debt to a credit bureau.
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Maine?
Most civil lawsuits, including suits on contracts and accounts, must be filed within 6 years after the claim arises. A debt collector may not sue more than 6 years after your last activity on the debt.
Can a medical debt lead to wage garnishment or a lien on my home in Maine?
Wages cannot be garnished for a judgment based on medical debt. A debt collector may not start a wage garnishment for medical debt, and a court may not order one.
Am I protected from ground ambulance bills in Maine?
If you have a state-regulated plan, ambulance services that are covered emergency services count as emergency services: you pay only your in-network cost sharing and the out-of-network ambulance provider may not bill you more. The plan must pay out-of-network ambulance providers the provider's rate or 180% of the Medicare rate, whichever is less.
Do I have a right to an itemized bill in Maine?
When you leave the hospital, it must tell you in writing that it will give you an itemized bill if you ask. You can ask at discharge or any time within 7 years after discharge, and the hospital must send it within 30 days of your request.
More help
Nearby states
Sources
- 22 M.R.S. § 1716-A (Maine Revisor of Statutes, data of Oct. 5, 2026)
- PL 2025, c. 488 (LD 1937), chaptered law
- 22 M.R.S. § 1715
- 32 M.R.S. § 11013 (Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)
- 10 M.R.S. § 1310-H; PL 2025, c. 201
- PL 2025, c. 649 (LD 2129), liens and wage garnishment for medical debt
- 22 M.R.S. §§ 1712, 1718-C, 1718-D, 1718-J
- 24-A M.R.S. §§ 4303-C, 4303-F, 4326
- 14 M.R.S. § 752
- Maine DHHS: 10-144 CMR Ch. 150 proposed rule (Aug. 5, 2026)
- CMS: Maine Consumer Assistance Program
- CDIA v. Frey, No. 1:19-cv-00438 (D. Me. Jan. 9, 2024), govinfo
- CDIA v. Frey, No. 20-2064 (1st Cir. Feb. 10, 2022)