Barstow Community Hospital
Acute care hospital in Barstow, CA.
Verified from the hospital's own policy
Barstow Community 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 (charity care) for uninsured patients and patients with high medical costs
How to apply
- Call (760) 957-3133 and ask for financial assistance.
- Application form
- Barstow Community Hospital Charity Care Payment Policy and Discounted Payment Policy (last revised December 16, 2024)
- Bring a recent tax return, recent pay stubs or a letter from your employer.
- 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.
- Savings and property
- The policy looks at income only, not savings or property.
- Very large bills
- High medical costs means yearly out-of-pocket costs at the hospital, or documented costs anywhere in the prior 12 months, over 10% of family income.
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
- Medically necessary care at Barstow Community Hospital.
- Not covered
- Elective and cosmetic procedures are not covered.
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 at or below 400% of the poverty level for people with no insurance and for people with high medical costs. The policy has no partial discount tier based on income, so the discount cap is set equal to the free care cap. Separately, every self-pay patient with no insurance gets 40% off at any income. People who get a discount never pay more than 10% of their prior 12 months of income out of pocket. Payment plans are interest free. Savings are not counted. There is no deadline to apply. The hospital aims to decide within 30 days of getting all your papers. Disputes go to the Director of Admitting at (760) 957-3133 or the Business Office Manager, and the CFO makes the final call. The policy names Quorum Health Corporation for its approval rules. It does not list languages and says the application comes in the main languages of the area, with interpreters for others. The policy is dated 2016, last revised December 2024.
Sources
- Free care level
Charity Care is available to any Financially Qualified Patient, meaning a patient whose family income is at or below 400 percent
- Discount level
Financially Qualified Patient, meaning a patient whose family income is at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level
- Discount steps
All Self-Pay or Uninsured Patients qualify for a 40% discount of their medical costs for services provided at Hospital.
- Discount steps
Charity Care: Free care.
- Insured patients
Is an Uninsured Patient/Self-Pay Patient or 2. Has High Medical Costs.
- Asset test
The Hospital may not consider a patient's Monetary Assets in determining eligibility under this Policy.
- Very large bills
exceeds 10% of the patient's current family income or the family income in the prior 12 months, whichever is less
- What is not covered
Medically Necessary Care does not include elective or cosmetic procedures.
- Deadline
The Hospital may not impose time limits for applying for Charity Care, or deny eligibility based on the timing of a patient's application.
- Documents
Recent paystubs, meaning pay stubs that are within a 6-month period before a patient is first billed by the Hospital
- Financial counseling phone
Patients may also access the Application directly by contacting the Director of Admitting at 760-957-3133.
Last checked. 2026-11-10
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