It's already in collections. Can I still apply?
Yes. A California hospital cannot set a deadline for applying for charity care or a discount, and cannot turn you down because of when you applied (Health & Safety Code §127405(e)(3)). That rule took effect on January 1, 2025, and it does not say it only covers newer bills.
A collection agency does not change this. Any agency collecting for a hospital must agree in writing to follow the hospital's own rules, including what it may collect from someone who qualifies (§127425(c)). The documents you give to apply, like pay stubs, cannot be used to collect from you (§127405(e)(2)).
If the hospital sold the debt, the sale contract must let the account go back to the hospital if you qualify for charity care or financial assistance (§127425(a)(2)). That rule covers sales since January 1, 2022. For debts sold before then, the rules were different, but it is still worth asking.
You apply to the hospital, not to the collector. We can build that application and send it for you.
Will this hurt my credit? Can they report it?
Since January 1, 2025, California law says no one may report a medical debt to a credit bureau (Civil Code §1785.27(a)). That includes hospitals, doctors, collection agencies and debt buyers. Credit bureaus may not include medical debt in a credit report (§1785.13(a)(7)), and lenders may not count medical debt against you when they decide on credit (§1785.20.6).
The rule is about reporting, not about when you were treated, so it covers older bills too. A medical debt should not appear on a credit report made today, however old it is. If someone knowingly reports it anyway, the law makes that debt void and unenforceable (§1785.27(b)).
One thing to know: federal regulators have argued that federal law overrides state rules like this one, and courts have not settled the question. In November 2025, California's Attorney General said that in California it remains illegal for medical debt to appear on credit reports.
If you find a medical bill on your credit report, the Attorney General suggests telling the provider, the debt collector and the credit bureau, and you can file a complaint at oag.ca.gov/report. You can get your credit reports free at annualcreditreport.com.
I already paid some of it. Can I get money back?
Possibly. If you qualify, the hospital must pay back anything you paid above what you owed under its charity care or discount policy, with interest, within 30 days (Health & Safety Code §127440(a)). If you qualify for free care, that can mean everything you paid. Amounts under $5 are the exception.
In two cases the law lets the hospital choose whether to refund, instead of requiring it: when it has been five years or more since your last payment to the hospital, a collector or a debt buyer, or when the debt was sold to a debt buyer before January 1, 2022 (§127440(b)).
So if your last payment was less than five years ago, a refund is required if you qualify. Either way, it is worth asking.
How old is too old?
The law sets no cutoff. A hospital cannot impose time limits for applying, or deny you because of when you apply (Health & Safety Code §127405(e)(3)). The same is true for a bill from the emergency room doctor (§127452(d)(3)).
Age still matters in a few ways. A hospital only has to keep its records of money owed to it for five years (§127425(j)), so a very old bill can be harder to trace. Once five years have passed since your last payment, a refund of what you paid is up to the hospital (§127440(b)). And the hospital cannot deny you help that its published policy offered when you were first billed (§127435(c)).
If you are not sure how old the bill is, start with what you have. A letter from a collector usually names the hospital and the dates of service.
I got court papers, or I'm being sued. What should I do?
Act now. Court papers come with a deadline to respond, and if you miss it the court can decide against you without hearing your side. For most lawsuits in California the deadline is 30 days after the papers were handed to you (Code of Civil Procedure §412.20(a)(3)). Read the papers for the exact date.
Contact a legal aid organization or a lawyer today. LawHelpCA.org lists free legal aid by county. We are not lawyers, and we cannot respond to a lawsuit or go to court for you.
Applying for financial assistance is still worth doing, but it does not replace responding to the court. If you qualify for charity care or a discount, the law limits how the debt can be collected: no lien on your home or other property and no forced sale of it, and wage garnishment by an outside collector only with a court order after a hearing on whether you can afford it (Health & Safety Code §127425(h)).
Tell us straight away as well, and keep copies of everything. Our terms of service explain what we can and cannot do while your application is open.
Does this cover the ER doctor's bill?
Often, but not always. A separate California law covers emergency room doctors (Health & Safety Code §§127450–127462). It applies to doctors the hospital employs or contracts to provide emergency care in its emergency department. They must offer a discount to patients at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (§127452). It requires a discount, not free care.
It does not cover a specialist who is called into the emergency room, or a doctor who works at the hospital outside the emergency department (§127450(c)). A surgeon called in to operate, or a radiologist reading your scan, may fall outside it. Bills from those doctors, and from follow-up visits, are not covered by either law, though some have their own assistance programs and you can still ask.
For the doctors it does cover, the timing rules match the hospital's: no deadline to apply (§127452(d)(3)), and a refund with interest if you paid more than you owed (§127458).
The hospital's own bill, for the room, tests and nursing care, is covered by the Hospital Fair Pricing Act. When you check your eligibility, tell us which bill you have.