Financial Assistance

Medical bills shouldn’t keep you from getting the care you need. That’s why we offer financial assistance. In compliance with IRS Code 501(r), we:

Have a written financial assistance policy (FAP) and “plain language summary” of the policy, available to the public
Limit the amounts that can be charged for emergency or other medically necessary care to individuals who qualify for financial assistance, charging only “Amounts Generally Billed” for such care
Refrain from extraordinary collection actions before making reasonable efforts to determine whether an individual qualifies for financial assistance

Additionally, on July 1, 2016, Penn State Health introduced new financial assistance policies and processes that give eligible patients 100% financial assistance for medically necessary services.

Financial Assistance Policies

Click on the links below to read our FAP or plain language summary and related policies and guidelines.

English

Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application

Related policies and guidelines:

RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
- RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
- RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
(Arabic) العربية
- Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
- All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
- Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
Related policies and guidelines:
- RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
  - RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
  - RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
  中文 (Chinese)
  - Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
  - All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
  - Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
  Related policies and guidelines:
  - RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
    - RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
    - RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
    Français (French)
    - Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Police d’Assistance Financière (policy)
    - All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Police d’Assistance Financière (policy)
    - Patients ayant besoin d'assistance financière (application)
    Related policies and guidelines:
    - (RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy)
      - (RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure)
      - (RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines)
      Deutsch (German)
      - Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Richtlinie zur Finanzhilfe (policy)
      - All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Richtlinie zur Finanzhilfe (policy)
      - Patienten die Finanzhilfe benötigen (application)
      Related policies and guidelines:
      - (RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines)
        
        Ελληνικά (Greek)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        (RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy)
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        ગુજરાતી (Gujarati)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        हिंदी (Hindi)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        Italiano (Italian)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Polizza di Assistenza Finanziaria (policy)
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Polizza di Assistenza Finanziaria (policy)
        
        Pazienti che hanno bisogno dell’Assistenza Finanziaria (application)
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        (RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines)
        
        한국어 (Korean)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS=053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        नेपाली (Nepali)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        Română (Romanian)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        Русский (Russian)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        srpskohrvatski (Serbo-Croatian)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Polisa finansijske pomoci (policy)
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Polisa finansijske pomoci (policy)
        
        Pacijenti kojima je potrebna finansijska pomoc (application)
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        (RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines)
        
        español (Spanish)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Directiva para la Ayuda Financiera (policy)
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Directiva para la Ayuda Financiera (policy)
        
        Pacientes que necesitan ayuda financiera (application)
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        (RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure)
        
        (RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines)
        
        Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center – PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        All other Penn State Health affiliations – PFS-051 Financial Assistance Policy
        
        Plain Language Summary and Financial Assistance Application
        
        Related policies and guidelines:
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        Related policies and guidelines
        
        RC-002 Patient Credit and Collections Policy
        
        RC-002 Appendix A – Financial Risk Procedure
        
        RC-002 Appendix B – Payment Plan Guidelines
        
        Additional resources
        
        In addition to standard financial assistance plans, we offer other services to help you pay your balance:
        
        Financial counseling services: Penn State Health has enhanced its financial counseling services, adding additional financial counselors and customer service representatives to assist patients and consumers with a variety of new and existing programs.
        
        AblePay Health: Penn State Health is a participating provider in AblePay Health, a no-cost program that can save up to 13% on your out-of-pocket medical expenses such as deductibles, coinsurance and co-pays.
        
        Interest-free payments: We do not charge interest on health care balances or charge a fee for carrying a balance.
        
        Prescription assistance: If you have a problem paying for prescription drugs, we can connect you with our pharmacy specialist. They can work with you to find equal, low-cost prescriptions or other pharmacy programs directly from drug companies.
        
        Four Diamonds: This charity offers financial assistance for children who are diagnosed with cancer before the age of 18. The charity often assists with out-of-pocket medical expenses, lodging, and transportation.
        
        No Surprises Act: Your rights and protections against surprise medical bills.
        
        Please Note
        
        Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center financial counseling has relocated to the main hospital building. Our offices are located behind the surgical outpatient waiting area in rooms H1005 and H1006.
        
        To speak with a financial counselor directly, please call:
        
        Holy Spirit Medical Center:
        717-763-2885
        
        St. Joseph Medical Center:
        610-378-2277
        
        Penn State Health Life Lion, LLC:
        717-763-2108
        
        All other affiliations:
        717-531-1740
        
        Hours of operation
        Monday – Friday: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Financial Assistance

Financial Assistance Policies

English

(Arabic) العربية

中文 (Chinese)

Français (French)

Deutsch (German)

Ελληνικά (Greek)

ગુજરાતી (Gujarati)

हिंदी (Hindi)

Italiano (Italian)

한국어 (Korean)

नेपाली (Nepali)

Română (Romanian)

Русский (Russian)

srpskohrvatski (Serbo-Croatian)

español (Spanish)

Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

Related policies and guidelines

Additional resources

Please Note