HospitalAid

Estimate whether a household is likely to get free or discounted care at one facility, or at each facility near a zip. Use it when a person asks if their income is low enough for free or reduced-cost care, charity care, or a discount on a hospital bill. Ask the patient first for: household size (people in the home, including them), yearly household income before taxes, and their state. Also a facility id or zip. Returns income as a percent of the poverty level, the result per facility (likely_free, likely_discount, likely_not, unknown), the dollar income cutoffs for this household size, and next steps. Say "likely". Never say "you qualify". The hospital makes the final decision, and asset tests, residency rules, and insurance status can change the answer. "unknown" means we have no income limits for that facility, not that help is unavailable.

Find US hospitals and community health centers near a zip code, or in a city and state, with each one's financial assistance (charity care) income limits. Use it when a person asks whether they can get free or discounted care at a US hospital or health center, needs help with a hospital bill, or asks how to apply for hospital financial assistance. Use it first when the patient names a place, not a specific hospital, or to get the facility id the other tools need. Ask the patient for their zip (or city and state) first. If they named a hospital, search near its city and match the name. Returns name, address, phone, ownership, distance, data tier, and income limits as a percent of the poverty level for each facility. Do not conclude anything about eligibility from this list alone. Use check_eligibility with household size and income.

Get how to apply for financial assistance at one facility: application link, deadline, documents to gather, financial counseling phone, and the plain-language summary link. Use it after check_eligibility shows likely_free, likely_discount, or unknown, or whenever the patient asks how to apply. Pass the facility id from find_facilities. If a field is null we do not have it. Tell the patient to call the billing or financial counseling office and ask. Do not invent a deadline or a document list.

Get the full financial assistance (charity care) policy we hold for one hospital or health center, with source URLs, short quotes, and last-checked date. Use it when the patient asks what the policy says, or before you state a policy fact, so you can cite the source. Pass the facility id from find_facilities (hospital CCN, slug, or health center id). The answer says which tier the data is: verified, IRS filing (with tax year), state program, or legal baseline only. Tell the patient which one. Null fields mean we do not know. Do not guess them.

Get state-level programs and laws that help with hospital bills in one state, with source URLs and quotes. Use it when the patient's hospital has no policy data, when the hospital is for-profit, or when they ask what their state offers. Ask for the patient's state first. A state program may cover only some hospitals. Check applies_to before telling the patient it applies.