# Colorado — State minimum standards for hospital financial assistance (charity care)

For Colorado, statute is 25.5-3-503; highest income the rule still protects is NOT MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL; which hospitals must comply is A HEALTH-CARE FACILITY AND A LICENSED HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL SHALL, FOR EMERGENCY AND OTHER NON-CICP HEALTH-CARE SERVICES; basis for the income test is FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL; notes is (c) AFTER A CUMULATIVE THIRTY-SIX MONTHS OF PAYMENTS, CONSIDER THE PATIENT'S BILL PAID IN FULL AND PERMANENTLY CEASE ANY AND ALL COLLECTION ACTIVITIES ON ANY BALANCE THAT REMAINS UNPAID, verified against its source on 2026-08-30.

- **State:** Colorado _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute:** 25.5-3-503 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Highest income the rule still protects:** NOT MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Which hospitals must comply:** A HEALTH-CARE FACILITY AND A LICENSED HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL SHALL, FOR EMERGENCY AND OTHER NON-CICP HEALTH-CARE SERVICES _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Basis for the income test:** FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Notes:** (c) AFTER A CUMULATIVE THIRTY-SIX MONTHS OF PAYMENTS, CONSIDER THE PATIENT'S BILL PAID IN FULL AND PERMANENTLY CEASE ANY AND ALL COLLECTION ACTIVITIES ON ANY BALANCE THAT REMAINS UNPAID. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> BEGINNING JUNE 1, 2022, IF A PATIENT IS SCREENED PURSUANT TO SECTION 25.5-3-502 AND IS DETERMINED TO BE A QUALIFIED PATIENT, A HEALTH-CARE FACILITY AND A LICENSED HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL SHALL, FOR EMERGENCY AND OTHER NON-CICP HEALTH-CARE SERVICES: (a) LIMIT THE AMOUNTS CHARGED TO NOT MORE THAN THE DISCOUNTED RATE ESTABLISHED IN STATE DEPARTMENT RULE PURSUANT TO SECTION 25.5-3-505 (2)(j);

## Source

- https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_1198_signed.pdf

Last verified: 2026-08-30. Review by: 2027-02-22.
Part of [State minimum standards for hospital financial assistance (charity care)](https://referencesource.org/state-hospital-financial-assistance-thresholds/).