Washington
For Washington, statute is RCW 70.170.060; income level for free care is not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level; highest income the rule still protects is between 251 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level; required discounts by income band is (ii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 201 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 75 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection; and (iii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 251 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 50 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection; which hospitals must comply is For the purpose of providing charity care, each hospital shall develop, implement, and maintain a policy which shall enable indigent persons access to charity care, verified against its source on 2026-08-30.
- State
- Washington our reading
- Statute
- RCW 70.170.060 verified
- Income level for free care
- not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level verified
- Highest income the rule still protects
- between 251 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level verified
- Required discounts by income band
- (ii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 201 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 75 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection; and (iii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 251 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 50 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection. verified
- Which hospitals must comply
- For the purpose of providing charity care, each hospital shall develop, implement, and maintain a policy which shall enable indigent persons access to charity care verified
- Deadline to apply
- at the time of application for charity care if the application is made within two years of the time of service verified
- Basis for the income test
- federal poverty level verified
- Notes
- an acute care hospital with over 300 licensed beds located in the most populous county in Washington, or an acute care hospital with over 200 licensed beds located in a county with at least 450,000 residents and located on Washington's southern border shall grant charity care per the following guidelines: (i) All patients and their guarantors whose income is not more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be deemed charity care patients for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges; (ii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 301 and 350 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 75 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection; (iii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 351 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 50 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection. verified
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
(b) At a minimum, a hospital not subject to (a) of this subsection shall grant charity care per the following guidelines: (i) All patients and their guarantors whose income is not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be deemed charity care patients for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges; (ii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 201 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 75 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection; and (iii) All patients and their guarantors whose income is between 251 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size, shall be entitled to a 50 percent discount for the full amount of the patient responsibility portion of their hospital charges, which may be reduced by amounts reasonably related to assets considered pursuant to (c) of this subsection.
— app.leg.wa.gov, retrieved 2026-08-26
Source
- app.leg.wa.govhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=70.170.060