Patient's Financial Aid Law (FAL)
On January 1, 2007, a state law went into effect that limits what hospitals in New York can charge patients with limited incomes and no health insurance coverage. The law also regulates how hospitals can go about collecting payments from such patients.
All hospitals in New York licensed by the Department of Health are covered by this law. Purely mental health facilities licensed only by the NYS Office of Mental Health are not covered by this law.
This law covers patients who:
- are New York State residents;
- or who have exhausted their health insurance benefits for the medical services they seek;
- have incomes at or below 300% of the "federal poverty level" (FPL). How much money this represents depends on the size of the patient´s family.
To view the current federal poverty chart please see 2018 Poverty Guidelines
The NYS Health Profiles website is an additional resource of valuable information useful to both patients and hospitals.
