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Hospital Charity Care in Louisiana: State-Hospital 200% FPL Rule

Updated September 2, 2026. Quick answer: A bona fide Louisiana resident who needs medical services, including an uninsured resident, is eligible for treatment at a general hospital owned or operated by the board.

This guide is limited to the cited Louisiana hospital-assistance source and its stated scope.

What changes in Louisiana

  • A bona fide Louisiana resident who needs medical services, including an uninsured resident, is eligible for treatment at a general hospital owned or operated by the board.
  • A person above 200% of the applicable federal poverty guideline may be denied non-emergency service after refusing authorized reasonable charges.
  • The statute says emergency treatment may not be denied to anyone.

Where this rule stops

This provision is limited to board-owned or board-operated general hospitals, and treatment eligibility does not establish that every service is free.

How to verify before you apply

  1. Identify the hospital or facility covered by the source and obtain its current policy.
  2. Ask for the current written policy and application instructions.
  3. Compare the policy with the official source below before relying on any threshold, discount, or deadline.

Related hospital-assistance guides

Primary source

Read Louisiana Revised Statutes § 46:6. Verify the current official text and the facility’s current policy before acting; this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.

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