Fresno Hospital Bills: How Community Medical Centers' Financial Assistance Works
A trip to the ER at Community Regional Medical Center or a stay at Clovis Community can leave you with a bill bigger than a month's pay. Community Medical Centers (CMC), the health system behind those hospitals and Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital, has a written financial assistance policy. Depending on your income and insurance, it can erase a bill completely, cut it to roughly what Medicare would pay, or knock 35% off. This guide walks through the options, the paperwork, and the deadlines that matter.
QUICK FACTS
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Five kinds of help in one policy
The CMC policy (#24817, effective December 16, 2024 and last edited February 11, 2026) groups its help into five categories. Most people will fit only one.
Type of help | Who it's for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
Full Charity Care | Uninsured, family income at or below 400% of poverty, or enrolled in certain public programs | The whole bill written off |
Discount Payment | Uninsured, family income between 401% and 450% of poverty | Payment capped at about what Medicare pays |
High Medical Costs Charity Care | Insured, income at or below 400%, out-of-pocket costs over the 10% threshold | Your share written off |
Bankruptcy | Uninsured and in bankruptcy, or finished bankruptcy within 3 months of your last date of service | The whole bill written off |
Uninsured Discount | Uninsured patients who don't qualify for the other categories or don't return an application | 35% off undiscounted charges |
The public program shortcut
You can qualify for Full Charity Care without an income calculation if you prove you're currently enrolled in one of these: the Medicare Savings Program, CalWORKs, CalFresh, SSI/SSP or WIC. The application asks for proof dated within six months before or after the date you were first billed.
What "Discount Payment" means in dollars
For inpatient stays, CMC limits what it expects you to pay to the Medicare DRG rate for that care, or the highest rate it would expect from a government program. For outpatient services, the cap is the Medicare fee schedule. The bill won't be zero, but ask for an itemized statement so you can see how the capped amount compares with the original charges.
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Where the income lines fall
CMC's 2026 summary lists the 450% line by family size. The 400% column is our own math from the same 2026 HHS poverty guidelines.
Family size | Up to 400% (our math) | Under 450% (CMC's figure, per year) | Under 450% (CMC's figure, per month) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $63,840 | $71,820 | $5,985 |
2 | $86,560 | $97,380 | $8,115 |
3 | $109,280 | $122,940 | $10,245 |
4 | $132,000 | $148,500 | $12,375 |
5 | $154,720 | $174,060 | $14,505 |
6 | $177,440 | $199,620 | $16,635 |
CMC says the 2027 poverty figures will be posted in mid-January 2027 and used for any application submitted in 2027.
Who counts as family? For an adult patient, it's you, your spouse or domestic partner, and dependent children under 21 (or any age if disabled), whether or not they live at home. CMC uses the prior 12 months or prior tax year of earnings. It subtracts alimony and child support you pay.
Monetary assets will not be considered when determining family income. (Community Medical Centers Financial Assistance Policy #24817)
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If you have insurance but still can't pay
Insurance doesn't shut you out. The High Medical Costs category fully forgives your patient responsibility amount if:
your family income is at or below 400% of poverty, and
your family's out-of-pocket medical costs in the past 12 months, at CMC or any other provider, are more than 10% of your current family income or of your income over the last 12 months, whichever is lower.
Copays, deductibles, Medicare copays and Medi-Cal cost sharing all count. The application says pharmacy costs, current balances and insurance premiums can count toward the 10% too. Bring receipts and statements.
Medicare patients with income in range can also ask for help with denied stays, denied days and non-covered services. Medi-Cal patients can get help with their share of cost.
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Applying, step by step
BEFORE YOU MAIL ANYTHING
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You can get in-person help at the admitting departments listed in CMC's summary. They're open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
Community Regional Medical Center, 2823 Fresno Street, Fresno
Clovis Community Medical Center, 2755 Herndon Avenue, Clovis
Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital, 15 E. Audubon Drive, Fresno
The billing questions line on the application is (559) 459-3939, or (800) 773-2223, option 2. An incomplete application can't be processed, so double-check that every household member's income is included.
Don't let the "15 days" line scare you off
The cover letter on CMC's application asks you to return it within 15 business days. The policy itself says applications "received at any time will be considered." Send it as quickly as you can, but a late application still counts.
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What happens after you apply
Decision time: CMC must decide within 45 days of getting your application. It can pause the clock while insurance or another payer is still pending.
How long approval lasts: approval covers all your outstanding CMC bills for covered services, plus covered care for six months after the date on your approval notice. After that, reapply.
Refunds: if you already paid more than you owe after approval, CMC must refund the difference within 30 days with interest (currently 10% a year under state law). Exceptions apply if your last payment was five or more years ago or the debt was sold before January 1, 2022.
Collections reversed: if you're approved, CMC and its collectors must take reasonable steps to undo collection actions. That includes vacating judgments, lifting liens and removing credit-report entries made before January 1, 2025. The policy says CMC doesn't report to credit bureaus after that date.
Collection timing
CMC's billing and collections policy says an account generally can't go to a collection agency until at least 180 days after a post-discharge bill was sent. For patients who qualify financially, wage garnishment isn't allowed except in narrow cases state law permits.
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Disputing a denial
You have 30 days from the notice to dispute a decision. You can call Patient Financial Services at (559) 459-3939, or write to Community Medical Centers, Patient Financial Services Department, P.O. Box 1232, Fresno, CA 93715. Explain why you disagree and what you want. A Patient Financial Services manager reviews it and answers in writing.
If you still think you were wrongly denied, file with California's Hospital Bill Complaint Program through HCAI. For free help reading a bill, call the Health Consumer Alliance at (888) 804-3536.
Bills from the doctors
Anesthesiologists, radiologists, hospitalists, pathologists and other physicians often bill separately, and CMC's policy doesn't cover them. Those bills do count toward the High Medical Costs threshold. Ask each physician group for its own charity care policy. California also requires ER doctors to give discounts to uninsured and high-cost patients at or below 400% of poverty.
Payment plans
If you qualify financially but not for full charity care, you're entitled to an interest-free payment plan. If you and CMC can't agree on terms, payments are capped at 10% of your monthly family income after essential living expenses like rent, food, utilities, child care, transportation and insurance.
Related guides
Official sources
Last checked: October 30, 2026. Facts come from CMC's Financial Assistance Policy, Billing and Collections Policy, 2026 application and plain language summary.
CMC can revise these policies. Confirm current income limits with Patient Financial Services at (559) 459-3939 before you apply.
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