Hospital AssistanceRules to protect patients from medical debt vary widely from state to state. Protections in Connecticut include:
- You Have the Right to Emergency Care No Matter What
Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), hospitals must screen and treat you in an emergency even if you do not have insurance or cannot pay. Hospitals cannot delay your care to ask about your insurance or payment method. - Free and Reduced-Cost Care Is Available at Connecticut Hospitals
All nonprofit hospitals must offer financial assistance programs that provide free and/or discounted care. Each hospital sets its own rules about who qualifies for these programs. Beginning 10/1/26, hospitals will have to include certain financial assistance information on each billing statement. Some hospitals also have “free bed funds” that can assist patients who are having difficulty paying their bill. - Medical Debt Cannot Hurt Your Credit Score in Connecticut
Hospitals and providers cannot report unpaid medical bills to credit bureaus. Medical debt should not appear on your credit report or lower your credit score. Collection companies working for hospitals must follow this rule too.[i] - Hospitals and Providers Cannot Require a Card to be on File Before Your Visit
Hospitals cannot require a credit card, debit card, or bank account number before you receive care. Hospitals and providers can request that information, and you can choose to share, but it cannot be a condition of getting treatment. [ii] - Limits on What Hospitals Can Bill Certain Uninsured Patients
If you make less than 250% of the federal poverty level ($39,900 per year as a single person or $68,300 for a family of three in 2026) and if you aren’t eligible for public health insurance, hospitals and health systems cannot collect more than the “cost of providing services.” [iii] - Protection from Surprise Medical Bills and Upfront Cost Estimates
Under the federal No Surprises Act, you can’t be charged out-of-network costs for out-of-network care in an emergency — such as emergency room visits and air ambulance services — and if you are uninsured or self-pay, providers must give you a good-faith estimate of expected costs before scheduled care or when you ask for it. - Hospitals Cannot Make You Sell Your Home
Hospitals and hospital-affiliated providers cannot foreclose on your primary home to collect medical debt, but they may place a lien on your home to collect a past medical debt once the home is sold.[iv] - Limits on Interest in Lawsuits for Hospital Debt
If you are sued by a collection agency or hospital for a hospital debt, state law limits pre- and post-judgment interest charged on the debt to 5% per year, and the court gets to decide whether to charge interest at all. [v]
[i] CT Gen Stat § 19a-673b. (2024)
[ii] CT Public Act 25-97, Section 4 (2025)
[iii] CT Gen Stat § 19a-673 (2019)
[iv] CT Gen Stat § 19a-673b. (2024)
[v] CT Gen Stat § 37-3a. (2024)