1

Hospital Discounted Care

​​​​House Bill (HB) 21-1198​, otherwise known as Health Care Billing Requirements for Indigent Patients, establishes requirements for hospital discounted care for low income patients. They will be given the opportunity to apply for financial assistance or charity care programs at the health care facility where they receive care. Service charges will be the greater of either the Medicare rate or Medicaid base rate. Payment plans that are established to pay the bills may not exceed four (4) percent of the patient's monthly household income. For bills from health care professionals, the limit is two (2) percent of the monthly household income. Once 36 months of payments have been made, the remainder of the bill is forgiven. HB 21-1198 will also set rules for hospitals that limit collections against a​​ patient.   

 

Hospital Discounted Care Operation Manual and Rules

Questions about the policies and procedures contained in the Operations Manual can be sent to hcpf_HospDiscountCare@state.co.us. In your email, please include the article and/or section number your question stems from.

Rules

The rules for Hospital Discounted Care were finalized at the May Medical Services Board meeting. The current version of the Hospital Discounted Care rules can be accessed here and on the Secretary of State website. The rules begin at section 8.920. 

Office Hours

HCPF will be holding Office Hours every other Wednesday from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. for Hospital Discounted Care providers to attend as needed to ask questions about the rules, policies, integration with CICP, etc. No advance registration is required. Please note the Office Hours topics are not set in stone, they can change without notice. Topic requests can be sent to hcpf_HospDiscountCare@state.co.us , and the schedule may be adjusted to accommodate requested topics as needed.

Hospital Discounted Care Office Hours, Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. 

Call in number: +1 720 707 2699

Meeting ID: 960 6539 2091

Office Hours Discussion Topics

  • October 30 - Cancelled
  • November 13- Collections
  • November 27- Cancelled
  • December 11- Hospital Discounted Care Resources
  • December 25- Cancelled
Forms
Patient's Rights

Per HB 21-1198, The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (the Department) developed a Patient's Rights form using feedback from numerous stakeholders. The form is provided below in both English and Spanish and has been updated to reflect the September 1 effective date.

Effective September 1, 2022, Health Care Facilities, which include general acute care or critical access hospitals or free standing emergency departments must have this patient's rights form available to the public and to each patient. This includes: 

  • Posting the Spanish and English patient's rights form conspicuously on the Health Care Facilities website, including a link to the information on the Health Care Facilities main landing page;
  • Make the form available in patient waiting areas;
  • Make the information available to each patient, or the patient's legal guardian, verbally, which may include using a professional interpretation service, or in writing in the patient's or legal guardian's preferred language before the patient is discharged from the Health Care Facility; and
  • Inform each patient or the patient's legal guardian on the billing statement of the patient's rights. Including the right to apply for discounted care, and provide the website, email address, and telephone number where the information may be obtained in the patient's preferred language.

Hospital Discounted Care - Patient Information Page

Decline Screening Form

Patients may decline the screening for public health care coverage and/or discounted health care. The decision to decline screening is not final. 

Generally, a decline screening form only covers one episode of care and any services provided related to the original episode of care. A decline screening form may cover additional past dates of service if the patient or their guardian signs a decline screening form that notes those specific past dates of service or a past date range that includes those specific past dates of service. A decline screening form cannot be collected for dates of service that have not occurred yet and are not related to a previous episode of care.

A patient’s decision to decline the screening that is documented and complies with Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing CCR Rule is a complete defense to a claim brought by a patient under CSR Section 25.5-3-506 (2) for a violation of CSR Section 25.5-3-506 (1)(a) OR (1)(b).

Services and Rates
What services are covered?

Health care services covered include all medically necessary care received in a general acute or critical access hospital or free-standing emergency department. Services provided by health care professionals in these settings are also covered. HB 21-1198 requires that all uninsured patients be screened for eligibility for Health First Colorado, CHP+, Medicare, Emergency Medicaid, the CICP, and discounted health care. Uninsured patients must be screened or formally waive their screening. Insured patients may request to be screened.

Hospital Discounted Care Frequently Asked Questions

Hospital Discounted Care Rates

Rates for Hospital Discounted Care and the Maximum Payment Calculator are now available online. Hospital Discounted Care limits the cost of hospital care for low income, uninsured Coloradans receiving services through hospitals’ financial assistance. Rates approximate 100% of Medicare or 100% of Medicaid, whichever is greater. These rates are the maximum that can be charged for hospital services under Hospital Discounted Care. 

Hospital Discounted Care directs the Department to set outpatient/inpatient/professional base rates for all CPT codes or facilities based on the greater of either Medicaid rates or Medicare rates. Any CPT code that is assigned a $0 rate has neither a Medicaid or Medicare set rate.

Rates are updated annually July 1. Contact us by email at the Hospital Discounted Care inbox hcpf_HospDiscountCare@state.co.us with any questions regarding these rates. 

Hospital Discounted Care Rates

Implementation

There have been three bills that have directly impacted Hospital Discounted Care:

  • HB 21-1198, known as Health Care Billing Requirements for Indigent Patients, created the statute now referred to as Hospital Discounted Care and was originally effective June 1, 2022. This bill has been fully implemented.
  • HB 22-1403 pushed back the HB 21-1198 implementation date for 3 months, resulting in Hospital Discounted Care going into effect on September 1, 2022. This bill has been fully implemented.
  • SB 24-116 known as Discounted Care for Indigent Patients, was signed by the Governor on May 31, 2024. HCPF is currently working on the implementation of this bill.

If you would like to stay up to date with the implementation processes and receive information on how you can participate, you can sign up to receive the Hospital Discounted Care newsletter.

Training

Past Training

Spring Training 2024
Spring Training 2023
Screening and Applications
Payment Plans and Collections
Data Reporting Template
Summer 2022
Hospital Discounted Care Policies and Procedures
Uniform Application for Hospital Discounted Care and CICP - June 2022
Screening and Application Process

Reviewing the Screening and Application processes for patients, including but not limited to timelines, screening best efforts, and decline screening form.

Screening Application Process Training
Payment Plans and Collections

Covering payment plans and collections processes, including but not limited to guidance on starting, adjusting, combining and/or ending payment plans, collections timeline for uninsured vs insured patients, and collections for patients who were approved for HDC vs those who opted out.

Payment Plans and Collections Training
Question and Answer Session
Uniform Application Training Slides - August 2022
Data Reporting

Data reporting for Hospital Discounted Care is due annually to HCPF by September 1 covering the previous State Fiscal Year which runs from July 1 to June 30. Data will be submitted directly to HCPF using a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) site. Submission data files must be in the template HCPF has created, linked below. Any questions regarding the use of the template should be sent to hcpf_HospDiscountCare@state.co.us. In addition, we have added in the template a Definitions, Troubleshooting and Instruction tab for extra resources. Please note that any elements not included in the data reporting may be subject to a more thorough audit in order for HCPF to meet statutory requirements.

Updates and Communications
Legislative Information
Newsletters

Contact Information

Email:  HCPF_HospDiscountCare@state.co.us