Colorado charity care
This state's rules reach every hospital in the state, whatever its tax status. Below: the five things that decide your bill in Colorado — the free-care line, the discount line, whether the hospital must screen you, your application window, and your credit-report protection — each with its source.
The law: Hospital Discounted Care — Colo. Rev. Stat. §25.5-3-501 et seq. (HB 21-1198)
Figures marked from statute, regulation, or agency text read directly in our research pass. Checked October 19, 2026.
The state's Hospital Discounted Care page (Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing) publishes the capped rate for every hospital service.
| Household size | Poverty guideline | Free-care line | Discount line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,960 | $31,920 200% (typical policy) | $39,900 250% |
| 2 | $21,640 | $43,280 200% (typical policy) | $54,100 250% |
| 4 | $33,000 | $66,000 200% (typical policy) | $82,500 250% |
| 6 | $44,360 | $88,720 200% (typical policy) | $110,900 250% |
Guidelines: 2026 HHS Poverty Guidelines (Federal Register, January 2026). Lines shown use Colorado's statutory percentages where the state sets them; "typical policy" marks the most common hospital-policy lines where it doesn't. Your hospital's policy is the deciding document — the kit shows you how to get it and read it.
At any nonprofit hospital in Colorado: a written financial assistance policy must exist and be publicized; you have 240 days from the first post-discharge bill to apply; no extraordinary collection actions for 120 days or while a complete application is decided; charges for eligible patients are capped at amounts generally billed; and money paid above what you owed comes back when a submitted application is approved. The full plain-words version.
Get the HospitalBillDecoded Kit — $49
One payment of $49. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — the application pack, the error checklist, the scripts, the deadline tracker, and the escalation ladder.
Colorado sets no statewide free-care percentage. Nonprofit hospitals' own financial assistance policies set the line — most commonly 200% of the poverty guidelines ($66,000 for a household of four in 2026).
The federal period controls: 240 days from your first post-discharge billing statement, with no extraordinary collection actions in the first 120 days.
Yes — Colorado law (HB 23-1126, effective August 7, 2023) keeps medical debt off credit reports. The law is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 2028 unless lawmakers extend it.