Help Paying Your Bill

Financial Assistance Program

Community Partnerships

Barton Health also maintains a robust community benefit program that invests in community safety net programs to help care for the uninsured and underserved.

In 2024 Barton Health provided $7.7 million in hospital and charity care provided for free or at discounted rates for eligible low-income, uninsured or underinsured patients.

Barton Health cares for all patients and their health needs regardless of the ability to pay. To meet community needs, Barton Health offers financial assistance to eligible patients and their guarantors who do not have the financial ability to pay for their medical bills.

We provide financial assistance to eligible patients based on their ability to pay for emergent and non-emergent medically necessary care* delivered at a Barton Health facility.

Financial assistance is not available for providers who are not covered under our Financial Assistance Policy. A full list of providers who participate in the Financial Assistance Policy, the Financial Assistance Policy (FAP), Billing and Collection Policy, Plain Language Summary and the Financial Assistance Application can be found below. Additionally, a list of shoppable services can be found in MyChart.

*Medically unnecessary services, such as those purely cosmetic in nature are excluded from the hospital’s Financial Assistance programs.

How Do I Qualify for Financial Assistance?

  • You can ask for help with your bill at any time during your hospital stay or billing process.
  • Financial Assistance is based on information that considers your yearly income and family size.
  • Based on current Federal Poverty guidelines, you may qualify for free or discounted care by reviewing income and other resources.
  • Federal guidelines can be found at: https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines.
  • Barton Health participates in the Covered California and Medi-Cal presumptive eligibility program for financial assistance. An FAP eligible patient/guarantor may not be charged more than the Amounts Generally Billed (AGB) for emergency or other medically necessary care.

How to Apply?

  • In order to determine your eligibility for financial assistance, you will need to complete the free Financial Assistance Application below and provide additional supporting documents.
  • You can request more information about the application, related policies, or for help with your bill in person, by mail, or email at the following addresses or contact details:

Hospital Bill Complaint Program

The Hospital Bill Complaint Program is a state program, which reviews hospital decisions about whether you qualify for help paying your hospital bill. If you believe you were wrongly denied financial assistance, you may file a complaint with the Hospital Bill Complaint Program. Go to HospitalBillComplaintProgram.hcai.ca.gov for more information and to file a complaint.

Paperwork

You are responsible for providing timely information about your health benefits, income, assets, and any other paperwork that will help you qualify. Paperwork might include bank statements, income tax forms, check stubs, and/or other documents.

Collection Activities

Barton will not engage in Extraordinary Collection Actions (ECAs) while determining financial assistance eligibility, including the following:

  • Selling an individual’s debt to another party except as expressly provided by federal law.
  • Reporting adverse information about the individual to consumer credit bureaus.
  • Deferring or denying or requiring a payment before providing Medically Necessary Care because of an individual’s nonpayment of one or more bills for previously provided care covered under the hospital facility’s Financial Assistance Policy.
  • Certain actions that require a legal or judicial process as specified by federal law, including some liens, foreclosures on real estate, attachments / seizures, commencing a civil action, causing an individual to be subject to a writ of attachment and garnishing an individual’s wages.
  • Contact the financial counselor at financialassistance@bartonhealth.org or 530.539.6086 for questions or concerns about billing or the collection process.

More Help

There are free consumer advocacy organizations that will help you understand the billing and payment process. You may call the Health Consumer Alliance at 888.804.3536 or go to healthconsumer.org for more information.

ATTENTION: If you need help in your language, please call 530.543.6086 or visit 2170 South Avenue, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. The office is open Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and is located in the Admitting Department. Aids and services for people with disabilities, like documents in braille, large print, audio, and other accessible electronic formats are also available. These services are free.

Financial Assistance Application

Additional Resources

Learn more from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information website.

For assistance with your Hospital or Physician Office account, please contact Barton Health Billing Customer Service at 530.543.5930.

If you would like more information, please go to 2170 South Avenue, South Lake Tahoe CA 96150.