The HSC Pediatric Center offers a financial assistance program to persons that have healthcare needs and are not able to pay for healthcare services. Patients are encouraged to communicate with the hospital’s admissions staff or business office if they do not have healthcare benefits or qualify for government programs that would cover the cost of medically necessary services. If you think you may be eligible for financial assistance, application forms are available at the registration areas or you may download it below. Eligibility for assistance is based upon income and resource verification.
How the Process Works
If you cannot pay for all or part of your care from our hospital, you may be able to get free or lower cost services. We treat all patients needing care no matter what they are able to pay.
When you become a patient, we ask if you have any health insurance. We will not charge you more for hospital services than we charge people with health insurance. The hospital will:
- Give you information about our financial assistance policy, or
- Offer you help with a counselor who will help you with the application.
Services provided by physicians or other providers may not be covered by the hospital’s financial assistance policy. You can call 202-832-4400 if you have questions.
How We Review Your Application
The hospital will look at your ability to pay for care. We look at your income and family size. You may receive free or lower costs of care if:
- Your income or your family’s total income is low for the area where you live, or
- Your income falls below the federal poverty level if you had to pay for the full cost of your hospital care, minus any health insurance payments.
Please note: If you are able to get financial help, we will tell you how much you can get. If you are not able to get financial help, we will tell you why not.
How to Apply for Financial Help
- Download a summary of our financial assistance policy (PDF).
- Fill out a financial assistance application form (PDF).
- Give us all of your information to help us understand your financial situation.
- Turn in the financial assistance application form to The HSC Pediatric Center’s business office. Please note: The hospital must screen patients for Medicaid before giving financial help.
More Information
You can get free hardcopies of our financial assistance policy and financial assistance application form:
- In person at The HSC Pediatric Center’s business office (1731 Bunker Hill Road, NE, Washington, DC 20017)
- By mail by calling 202-635-6544 to request a printed copy
Patient accounting staff, in our business office, are available if you need help completing the form and are also available to answer questions about our financial assistance policy at 202-832-4400. You can also call 1-877-715-0110 if you need help in another language.