Medical bills in Oregon: free care, credit reports and your rights
Oregon has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 400% of the federal poverty level.
Oregon 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 Oregon?
Oregon has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 400% of the federal poverty level.
| Income (% of poverty level) | What you get | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 200% | Free care | If your household income is not more than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, the hospital must reduce your share of the bill by 100% (free). |
| 200% to 300% | Discount | If your household income is more than 200% and not more than 300% of the federal poverty guidelines, the hospital must reduce your share of the bill by at least 75%. |
| 300% to 350% | Discount | If your household income is more than 300% and not more than 350% of the federal poverty guidelines, the hospital must reduce your share of the bill by at least 50%. |
| 350% to 400% | Discount | If your household income is more than 350% and not more than 400% of the federal poverty guidelines, the hospital must reduce your share of the bill by at least 25%. |
These are the income levels written in the law. Each hospital decides using its own policy.
- The law
Oregon hospital financial assistance law
Law: ORS 442.610 to 442.615, HB 3320 of 2023; ORS 442.610, 442.612, 442.614, 442.615 (as amended by Or. Laws 2026, ch. 109); ORS 646A.677
- Which hospitals
Nonprofit hospitals in Oregon must give the minimum discounts below, and their policies must cover their nonprofit affiliated clinics. All licensed hospitals, including for-profit hospitals, must screen certain patients for financial assistance and post their financial assistance policy.
- Who can get help
Patients with household income up to 400% of the federal poverty level, whether or not they have insurance, for the part of the bill not paid by insurance or a public program.
- Deadline to apply
You can apply if you were not screened, if the screening found you not eligible, or if you disagree with the amount offered. You can also apply any time up to 12 months after you pay the bill.
Law: ORS 442.610, 442.612, 442.614, 442.615 (as amended by Or. Laws 2026, ch. 109); ORS 646A.677
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 Oregon law.
Is my debt too old in Oregon?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 6 years |
| Open account | 6 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 6 years |
A lawsuit on a contract or liability, express or implied (written or not), must be filed within 6 years.
- What can restart the clock
A payment of principal or interest made after the debt is due restarts the 6 years from the last payment. A promise or acknowledgment counts only if it is in writing and signed by you.
Law: ORS 12.080(1), 12.230, 12.240
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 Oregon?
- Credit reports
Full ban
No one may report the amount or existence of an Oregon resident's medical debt to a credit bureau, and credit bureaus may not include an item they know or should know is medical debt.
- Waiting rules
Before a hospital or nonprofit hospital clinic sends an unpaid bill to a debt collector or refers it for collection, it must screen you for financial assistance and send you a copy of its financial assistance policy and an application. While a financial assistance appeal is pending, the hospital must stop collection and tell any collection agency to stop. Hospitals and collectors may not try to collect a medical debt from your children or other relatives who are not legally responsible for it.
- Interest
If you qualify for free care (household income up to 200% of the poverty level), no interest may be charged on your medical debt. For other patients, interest before a court judgment may not be more than the one-year Treasury rate for the week before you were first billed, and never less than 2% or more than 5% a year. After a judgment, interest can rise to the general judgment rate.
- Wage garnishment
75% of your disposable earnings are protected, and you keep at least $400 a week (for wages paid July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027; $832 for two weeks, $912 for a half month, $1,792 for a month). From July 1, 2027, the weekly amount is 30 times the Oregon minimum wage. This is more than federal law protects.
Law: ORS 646A.677(4), (7)-(10); ORS 442.615(9); ORS 18.385
Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Oregon
- State law
Oregon balance billing law and ground ambulance law
Law: ORS 743B.287; HB 3243, 2025; ORS 743B.287, 743B.288, 743B.292
- Which plans it covers
Health insurance and health care service contracts regulated by the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation. For ground ambulance, self-funded employer plans and the state employee and educator plans (PEBB, OEBB) are covered only if they choose to join.
- What it adds
An out-of-network provider may not bill you more than your in-network cost sharing for emergency services, or for other inpatient or outpatient services at an in-network hospital or other facility, unless you chose to get non-emergency care from that out-of-network provider.
- Ground ambulance
The state protects you
For state-regulated plans issued, renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026, a ground ambulance may not bill you for a covered ride once you have paid your plan's in-network cost sharing. Your plan must pay the ambulance the local rate set by the city or county, or at least 325% of the Medicare rate if there is none.
Law: ORS 743B.292 (Or. Laws 2025, ch. 614, HB 3243, secs. 2, 6)
Law: ORS 743B.287, 743B.288, 743B.292
Itemized bills and price estimates in Oregon
Before sending a bill to collections, a hospital or nonprofit hospital clinic must send you its financial assistance policy and an application.
Law: ORS 646A.677(4)
Price estimates
If you have a state-regulated health plan, your insurer must give you a reasonable estimate of your costs in advance for its most common in-network procedures (office visits, imaging, lab tests, normal delivery, immunizations, orthopedic surgery and endoscopy), showing your deductible, what you have met and your cost share. It must also estimate out-of-network costs, including the difference between its allowed amount and the provider's charge. Estimates must be available on a website and by toll-free phone.
Law: ORS 743B.281, 743B.282
Health coverage and Medicaid in Oregon
Oregon Health Plan (OHP) is Oregon's Medicaid program. Apply for it here:
Where to complain in Oregon
- Hospital licensing: Oregon Health Authority, Health Facility Licensing and Certification · 971-673-0540
Complaints about a hospital or other licensed health care facility. - Health insurance: Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (consumer advocates) · 1-888-877-4894
A surprise bill, ground ambulance bill or claim problem with a state-regulated health plan, or a problem with an unregistered collection agency. - Attorney general: Oregon Department of Justice, Consumer Protection · 1-877-877-9392
A hospital, collector or credit bureau broke medical debt rules (such as screening, interest or credit reporting) or used unfair collection practices.
Free help in Oregon
Free tools, letters and checklist
Good to know in Oregon
- Every licensed Oregon hospital must screen uninsured patients, Oregon Health Plan members and patients who owe more than $1,500 for a single visit for financial assistance before sending a bill, without asking for documents.
Law: ORS 442.615(2)-(3)
- If you qualify for free care, no hospital, clinic or collector may charge interest on your medical debt.
Law: ORS 646A.677(7)
- Hospitals must report to the Oregon Health Authority each year how many financial assistance applications they approved and how many accounts they sent to collections.
Law: ORS 442.618
Changes in 2024–2026
July 1, 2024: HB 3320 required hospitals to screen patients for financial assistance before billing, limited what applications can ask, and added appeals. January 1, 2026: SB 605 banned reporting medical debt to credit bureaus; HB 3243 banned ground ambulance balance billing for state-regulated plans issued, renewed or extended on or after that date. April 7, 2026: HB 4040 changed the screening threshold from more than $500 owed to more than $1,500 owed for a single hospital visit.
Law: Or. Laws 2023, ch. 263; Or. Laws 2025, ch. 343; Or. Laws 2025, ch. 614; Or. Laws 2026, ch. 109
Source: the Oregon Health Authority says appeals began January 1, 2025
Questions about medical bills in Oregon
Does Oregon require hospitals to give free or discounted care?
Oregon has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 400% of the federal poverty level.
Can medical debt be reported to credit bureaus in Oregon?
Oregon law bans medical debt from credit reports. No one may report the amount or existence of an Oregon resident's medical debt to a credit bureau, and credit bureaus may not include an item they know or should know is medical debt.
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Oregon?
A lawsuit on a contract or liability, express or implied (written or not), must be filed within 6 years.
Can a medical debt lead to wage garnishment or a lien on my home in Oregon?
75% of your disposable earnings are protected, and you keep at least $400 a week (for wages paid July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027; $832 for two weeks, $912 for a half month, $1,792 for a month). From July 1, 2027, the weekly amount is 30 times the Oregon minimum wage.
Am I protected from ground ambulance bills in Oregon?
For state-regulated plans issued, renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026, a ground ambulance may not bill you for a covered ride once you have paid your plan's in-network cost sharing. Your plan must pay the ambulance the local rate set by the city or county, or at least 325% of the Medicare rate if there is none.
More help
Nearby states
Sources
- ORS chapter 442 (2025 edition), ORS 442.610-442.618 financial assistance
- Oregon Laws 2026, ch. 109 (HB 4040)
- ORS chapter 646A (2025 edition), ORS 646A.677 medical debt
- Oregon Laws 2025, ch. 343 (SB 605)
- ORS chapter 743B, balance billing and ground ambulance (743B.287, 743B.292)
- Oregon Laws 2025, ch. 614 (HB 3243)
- ORS chapter 12 (time limits)
- ORS 18.385 (wage exemption)
- Oregon Health Authority: Hospital financial assistance information for patients
- Oregon Health Authority: Hospital Reporting Program
- Oregon Health Authority: Apply for the Oregon Health Plan
- Division of Financial Regulation: File a complaint
- Oregon DOJ Consumer Protection: consumer complaint