Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: New York hospitals must waive charges for patients at or under 200% of the federal poverty level and pause collections while a financial-aid application is pending.
This guide is limited to the cited New York hospital financial-assistance source and its stated scope.
What changes in New York
- A general hospital must waive all charges for a patient whose family income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
- Charges are capped at 10% of the Medicaid rate for patients between 200% and 300% FPL, and at 20% for patients between 300% and 400% FPL.
- The hospital must refrain from sending an account to collection while the patient has a completed financial-aid application pending, while it determines the patient’s eligibility.
Where this rule stops
The law sets these percentages and the collection-pause rule for general hospitals; the exact documentation each hospital requires for its own tiers is set in that hospital’s own policy under state guidance.
How to verify before you apply
- Identify the hospital or facility covered by the source and obtain its current policy.
- Ask for the current written policy and application instructions.
- Compare the policy with the official source below before relying on any threshold, discount, or deadline.
Related hospital-assistance guides
Primary source
Read N.Y. Public Health Law § 2807-k(9-a). Verify the current official text and the facility’s current policy before acting; this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.