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

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, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute:** RCW 70.170.060 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Income level for free care:** not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Highest income the rule still protects:** between 251 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **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: appears in the quote below)_
- **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: appears in the quote below)_
- **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: appears in the quote below)_
- **Basis for the income test:** federal poverty level _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **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: appears in the quote below)_

## 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.

## Source

- https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=70.170.060

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/).