Washington Hospital
Acute care hospital in Fremont, CA.
Verified from the hospital's own policy
Washington Hospital likely gives free care to households with a yearly income up to $63,840 for 1 person, $86,560 for 2, $109,280 for 3, $132,000 for 4, $154,720 for 5 or $177,440 for 6. We have not found a discount for incomes above the free care level.
The hospital makes the final decision.
| People in household | Free care up to | Discount up to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $63,840 | not found |
| 2 | $86,560 | not found |
| 3 | $109,280 | not found |
| 4 | $132,000 | not found |
| 5 | $154,720 | not found |
| 6 | $177,440 | not found |
Discount steps
- 0% to 400% of poverty level, you pay $0 (100% charity discount) for self-pay patients and patients with high medical costs
How to apply
- Call (510) 818-7448 and ask for financial assistance.
- Application form
- Patient Financial Assistance and Charity Care Policy (on file with HCAI, effective 06/23/2026)
- Bring most recent tax return, recent pay stubs, with a supervisor's contact who can confirm pay, a copy of any Medi-Cal or other program denial.
- We do not have the deadline yet. Apply as soon as you get a bill, and ask the billing office to pause collections while you apply.
- Very large bills
- Insured patients at or below 400% of the poverty level whose out-of-pocket costs at the hospital, or medical expenses in the prior 12 months, top 10% of family income get free care
If you have insurance
Insured patients can also apply for help with deductibles and copays. Keep your insurance. Financial assistance covers bills from this one place only.
What is covered
- Covered
- Emergency care, non-elective care for life-threatening conditions, and care that would harm your health if delayed. Other medically necessary services are reviewed case by case.
- Not covered
- Care that is not medically necessary and doctors who bill separately are not covered. Contracted emergency doctors must give their own discounts at or below 400% of the poverty level.
State program in California
Hospital Fair Pricing Act (Health and Safety Code 127400 et seq.)
Every licensed general acute care, acute psychiatric, and special hospital in California must have a charity care policy and a discount payment policy. A patient can ask for help if they are uninsured (self-pay) or have high medical costs, and their family income is not more than 400% of the federal poverty level. Hospitals may choose to help people with higher incomes. With a discount, the bill is capped at about what Medicare or Medi-Cal would pay, whichever is greater. You can apply at any time, even after a bill goes to collections. Immigration status does not affect eligibility.
Income levels in the program are discount up to 400% of poverty level.
Applies to each licensed general acute care hospital, acute psychiatric hospital, and special hospital in California.
Apply to the hospital's financial assistance office. Each hospital's policies and applications are posted on its website and on HCAI's Hospital Fair Pricing Policy Lookup (https://hcai.ca.gov/affordability/hospital-fair-billing-program/hospital-fair-pricing-policy-lookup/).
Is a self-pay patient OR a patient with high medical costs; AND Patient's family income is not more than 400 percent of the federal poverty
Program source, checked 2026-11-10
Hospital Bill Complaint Program (HCAI)
A free state program at HCAI. If a hospital wrongly denied you financial assistance, did not tell you about its programs, or sent you to collections the wrong way, you can file a complaint online (English and Spanish) or by mail (many languages). You must have applied to the hospital first for HCAI to review an eligibility decision. If HCAI finds you paid too much, the hospital must refund you within 30 days. It covers problems on or after January 1, 2022. It does not handle general billing disputes, price transparency, Good Faith Estimates, or bills from emergency room doctors.
Applies to complaints about any hospital covered by the Hospital Fair Pricing Act.
File online through the Patient Complaint Portal (https://hcai.ca.gov/affordability/hospital-fair-billing-program/hospital-bill-complaint-program/should-i-file-a-complaint/) or mail the Patient Complaint Form to Department of Health Care Access and Information, Hospital Bill Complaint Program, 2020 West El Camino Avenue, Suite 1101, Sacramento, CA 95833.
If you believe you were wrongly denied financial assistance, you may file a complaint with the Hospital Bill Complaint Program.
Program source, checked 2026-11-10
Emergency physician discount rule
Most hospital policies cover only the hospital's own bill. Emergency room doctors often bill separately. California law also requires an emergency physician to give discounts to uninsured patients and patients with high medical costs whose family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. Ask the doctor group's billing office for its discount policy. HCAI's complaint program does not handle emergency doctor bills.
Income levels in the program are discount up to 400% of poverty level.
Applies to emergency physicians who provide emergency medical services in a California hospital that provides emergency care.
Ask the emergency physician group named on the bill for its discount payment policy.
an emergency physician who provides emergency medical services in a hospital that provides emergency care is also required by law to provide discounted care
Program source, checked 2026-11-10
Notes
Free care if you have no insurance or have high medical costs and your family income is at or below 400% of the poverty level. The policy has no partial discount tier tied to income. A separate cash discount policy for uninsured and some underinsured patients exists, and you can ask Patient Financial Services for it. The policy does not say whether savings are counted. The hospital expects you to apply for Medi-Cal or other coverage it thinks you could get, and may deny help if you do not. If the hospital asks for more papers, you have 60 days to send them. You can reapply at any time. A decision comes within 30 days of a complete application. Approval covers the current stay, or 6 months for outpatient care. Appeals go to the Director or Chief of Revenue Cycle Management within 30 days of a denial. The application filed with the state is a scanned image and was not read.
Sources
- Free care level
A patient who satisfies all the following criteria shall receive a 100% charity discount on all Eligible Hospital Services
- Discount level
A patient who has a family income that does not exceed 400 percent of the FPL.
- Discount steps
The patient's family income does not exceed 400% of the FPL; and (c) The patient is a Self-Pay Patient or High Medical Cost Patient.
- Insured patients
Patient Financial Services will screen low-income patients with third-party coverage for high medical costs.
- Very large bills
Annual out-of-pocket costs incurred by the individual at Washington Hospital that exceed the lesser of 10 percent of the patient's current family income
- What is not covered
This Policy excludes (i) services which are not medically necessary and (ii) separately-billed physician services.
- Documents
To verify income, the patient shall provide Washington Hospital with (i) the patient's most recent tax return(s); and (ii) recent pay stubs.
- Financial counseling phone
Questions about financial assistance and charity care eligibility should be directed to the Financial Assistance Coordinator at (510) 818-7448.
Last checked. 2026-11-10
Something wrong? Tell us and include a link to where you saw the right answer.
Work at this hospital? Claim and verify this page.
For AI assistants, this page as Markdown.