Medical bills in Utah: free care, credit reports and your rights
Utah has no state charity-care law; nonprofit hospitals must still follow federal rules.
Utah 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 Utah?
Utah 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 Utah?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 6 years |
| Open account | 4 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 4 years |
A lawsuit on a contract or debt founded on a written instrument must be filed within 6 years. A lawsuit on a contract not founded on a writing, or on an open account for services or materials, must be filed within 4 years after the last charge or the last payment.
- What can restart the clock
A lawsuit to collect a debt may be brought within the time limit counted from the latest of: the day the debt arose, the day you made a written acknowledgment of the debt or a written promise to pay, or the day you made a payment on the debt. For an unwritten contract or open account, the 4 years also run from the last charge or the last payment.
- When the clock starts
For an unwritten contract or open account: the last charge or the last payment received.
Law: Utah Code 78B-2-309, 78B-2-307, 78B-2-113
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 Utah?
- Credit reports
No state limit
Utah has no state law limiting medical debt on credit reports.
- Waiting rules
Utah law sets no waiting period before a medical bill can be sent to collections or sued on.
Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Utah
- State law
Utah ground ambulance maximum rates and balance billing ban
Law: Utah Code 53-2d-503; Utah Code 53-2d-503, 31A-22-627.1
- Which plans it covers
The ambulance rule binds ground ambulance and paramedic providers. The rule requiring a health plan to accept the state base rate as an allowable expense applies to health benefit plans regulated by the Utah Insurance Department.
- What it adds
Only ground ambulance bills (see below).
- Ground ambulance
The state protects you
A ground ambulance or paramedic provider may not charge more than the state's base rate for the type of transport plus the state mileage rate, and may not balance bill you. If you have insurance, it may bill you only your plan's cost sharing, a service your plan does not cover, or, if your plan allows less than the base rate plus mileage, the difference up to that total.
Law: Utah Code 53-2d-503, 31A-22-627.1 (as amended by H.B. 269, 2026, Ch. 468, effective July 1, 2026)
Law: Utah Code 53-2d-503, 31A-22-627.1
Itemized bills and price estimates in Utah
Utah has no general state law giving you a right to an itemized bill within a set time. Use your federal rights to your billing records.
Health coverage and Medicaid in Utah
Utah Medicaid is Utah's Medicaid program. Apply for it here:
Where to complain in Utah
- Health insurance: Utah Insurance Department, Health and Life Division · (801) 957-9200
An insurer did not pay a ground ambulance claim at the state rate, or another problem with state-regulated health insurance. - Debt collectors: Utah Division of Consumer Protection · (801) 530-6601
A debt collector or business treated you unfairly or deceptively. - Medicaid: Utah Medicaid (applications through the Department of Workforce Services) · 1-866-435-7414
Questions about applying for Medicaid, which can cover medical bills.
Free help in Utah
Free tools, letters and checklist
Good to know in Utah
- Utah sets in law the most a ground ambulance can charge for a transport, and bans ambulance balance billing.
Law: Utah Code 53-2d-503(5)-(7)
- A state-regulated health plan must pay a ground ambulance directly at the state rate, including an out-of-network ambulance.
Law: Utah Code 31A-22-627.1
Changes in 2024–2026
2025: H.B. 301 (Laws 2025, Ch. 241) set statewide ground ambulance base rates, banned ambulance balance billing and required health plans to accept the rates. July 1, 2026: H.B. 269 (Laws 2026, Ch. 468) raised the base rates, folded medication costs into the base rate, allowed billing up to the base rate plus mileage when a plan allows less, removed the July 1, 2027 repeal date, and starts yearly inflation adjustments of the base rate on July 1, 2027.
Questions about medical bills in Utah
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Utah?
A lawsuit on a contract or debt founded on a written instrument must be filed within 6 years. A lawsuit on a contract not founded on a writing, or on an open account for services or materials, must be filed within 4 years after the last charge or the last payment.
Am I protected from ground ambulance bills in Utah?
A ground ambulance or paramedic provider may not charge more than the state's base rate for the type of transport plus the state mileage rate, and may not balance bill you. If you have insurance, it may bill you only your plan's cost sharing, a service your plan does not cover, or, if your plan allows less than the base rate plus mileage, the difference up to that total.
More help
Nearby states
Sources
- Utah Code 53-2d-503 (current version effective July 1, 2026)
- H.B. 301 (2025) enrolled copy, Ambulance Provider Payment Amendments
- H.B. 269 (2026) enrolled copy, Ambulance Provider Payment Amendments
- Utah Code 78B-2-307, 78B-2-309
- Utah Code 70C-7-103
- Utah Medicaid: How to apply
- Utah Insurance Department: Consumers
- Utah Division of Consumer Protection complaint