Billing Information

Financial and Medical Assistance Programs for Families

Poverty Guidelines | BCMH | Financial Assistance l Hamilton County l Healthy Start l HCAP l Medicaid l VOC l Other Programs l Financial Counseling l State Resources l

Worried about paying your medical bills? No health insurance? We can help!

Financial counselors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center help arrange for payment plans, discounts and financial assistance for eligible patients and families. Cincinnati Children's is committed to providing health care to children who need it, regardless of family income. Please call us at 513-636-0201.

Qualification for many assistance programs requires applicants to meet federal poverty income guidelines based on their Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

2008 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines

Family Size	Income 200% FPL	Income 250% FPL	Income 300% FPL	Income 400% FPL
1	$20,800	$26,000	$31,200	$41,600
2	$28,000	$35,000	$42,000	$56,000
3	$35,200	$44,000	$52,800	$70,400
4	$42,400	$53,000	$63,600	$84,800
5	$49,600	$62,000	$74,400	$99,200
6	$56,800	$71,000	$85,200	$113,600
7	$64,000	$80,000	$96,000	$128,000
8	$71,200	$89,000	$106,800	$142,400
For each additional person, add:	$ 7,200	$ 9,000	$ 10,800	$ 14,400

Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH)

The Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH) receives federal, state and county funds to care for children who are, or are potentially medically handicapped. This program provides eligible handicapped children with payments for medical expenses for diagnostic and treatment programs through BCMH-approved medical providers.

For more information, visit the Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH) web site, or call 614-466-1547.

Cincinnati Children's Financial Assistance Program

Cincinnati Children's works with eligible patients and families to secure government assistance for medically necessary hospital-level services. If patients and their families are not eligible for government assistance, Cincinnati Children's offers financial assistance in the form of discounts and payment plans.

The Cincinnati Children's Financial Assistance Program is available to all patients and families who live in our primary service area and do not have health insurance. (Our service area includes Hamilton, Warren, Butler, Clermont, Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Dearborn counties.) Discounts are available regardless of family income.

Cincinnati Children's expects families to use all other available resources before financial aid will be considered. This includes encouraging families to apply to their county's local Department of Human Services.

Eligibility for financial aid is based on the number of dependents in the family and total gross income. Please download a financial assistance application (in .pdf format).

You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view .pdf files. You must have Adobe Acrobat" Reader installed on your computer to read this file. You can download Adobe Acrobat" Reader at Adobe's Web site by selecting the version appropriate for your type of computer.

Hamilton County Health and Hospitalization Tax Levy

The Hamilton County Health and Hospitalization Levy provides free or reduced-cost health care at Cincinnati Children's to Hamilton County residents who do not have health insurance. It is for patients and families with limited or no financial resources for medical care.

Healthy Start and Healthy Families / CHIP

Healthy Start is free health coverage for kids from birth to age 19 and pregnant women who qualify based on family income. Healthy Families provides health coverage at no cost for the entire family (parents and children). A family's income determines eligibility for Healthy Start and Healthy Families.

To Qualify for Healthy Start:

Children: must be at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
Pregnant women: must be at or below 150% of the FPL
Healthy Families: must be at or below 100% of the FPL

Children and families with income between 151% - 200% of the federal poverty levels cannot have health insurance at the time of the application to be eligible for Healthy Start.

For more information, please call Healthy Start, 1-800-324-8680.

Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP)

Patients who need medical care but are unable to pay for it may be eligible for free or reduced-cost care at Ohio hospitals through Hospital Care Assurance Program or hospital financial assistance programs. For each of these programs, the patient must complete an application and provide proof of income.

Please download a financial assistance application (in .pdf format).

As a participant of the Ohio Hospital Care Assurance Program, Cincinnati Children's will provide - without charge to an individual - medically necessary hospital-level services to an individual:

Who is an Ohio resident
Who is at or below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
Who is not currently receiving Medicaid

For more about Hospital Care Assurance Program, please call 614-253-4340.

Medicaid Disability

Medicaid Disability provides payments for medical expenses for eligible low-income, age 65 or older, blind or disabled individuals. The extent of medical care which may be paid is governed by Ohio's Medicaid program.

For more information about Medicaid Disability, please call 614-466-6282.

Ohio Victims of Crime (VOC)

Ohio Victims of Crime (VOC) is funded by the collection of court costs and filing costs within the state of Ohio. Innocent victims of violent crimes are entitled to compensation under the laws of the State of Ohio.

Compensation for lost wages and incident-related charges are available for eligible victims through this program. Ohio Victims of Crime will not reimburse inpatient hospital bills for HCAP-eligible patients.

For more information, please call the State of Ohio at 800-582-2877.

Other Payment and Discount Programs

Cincinnati Children's works with eligible patients and families to secure government assistance for medically necessary hospital-level services. If patients / families are not eligible for government assistance, Cincinnati Children's offers the following financial assistance to patients and families with no insurance (uninsured) who live in our primary service area (Hamilton, Warren, Butler, Clermont, Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Dearborn counties):

With Gross Income equal to or less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG), all medically necessary hospital-level services are free of charge
With Gross Income that is between 151% and 175% of the FPG, there is a 75% discount off billed charges
With Gross Income that is between 176% and 200% of the FPG, there is a 50% discount off billed charges
With Gross Income that is between 201% and 400% of the FPG, there is a 30% discount off billed charges
With Gross Income that is greater than 400% of the FPG or those families who refuse to complete a Financial Assistance Application, there is a courtesy discount of 5% off billed charges

If a patient / family has out-of-pocket expenses that total more than 25% of the their gross income in any one year, Cincinnati Children's will work with them on a payment plan so they will not be required to pay more than 25% of their gross income to Cincinnati Children's in any one year.

How the process might work for you

Discounts vary and are based on family income and size. The following are only examples of family situations and possible discounts:

A family of four with no health insurance and a combined yearly income of $70,000 could receive a 30% discount off their total bill depending on their eligibility.
A family of five with no health insurance and a combined yearly income of $35,000 could receive a 75% discount off their total bill depending on their eligibility.
A family of three with no health insurance and a combined yearly income of $20,000 could receive care for free depending on their eligibility.

To receive discounts and payment plans or to apply for other financial aid programs, you must fill out a financial assistance application (available for download in a .pdf format).

For more information, please call one of our financial counselors at 513-636-0201.

Financial Counseling

If you are worried about paying your medical bills or if you have no health insurance, we can help! Please talk to one of our financial counselors about discounts or payment plans.

Cincinnati Children's is committed to providing health care to children who need it, regardless of ability to pay. Please call us at 513-636-0201.