Las Vegas Hospital Bills: UMC's Financial Relief Program, Sunrise Charity Care and Your Collection Rights
Most Las Vegas hospital bill guides start after the bill arrives. At UMC, the timing works differently. University Medical Center of Southern Nevada's Financial Relief Program asks Clark County patients to apply before their first appointment, and it has its own copays, payment-plan math and collection rules. This guide walks through UMC's program step by step, then covers Sunrise Health's charity discount and the Nevada law that limits what a collection agency can do with medical debt.
AT A GLANCE
|
First, sort out which bill you're holding
After a hospital stay you'll usually get several bills, not one. UMC's billing page lists them: a hospital bill for your room, meals, nursing care and lab work, a bill from the physician, one from the radiologist who read your X-rays and one from the pathologist who interpreted lab tests. If an ambulance brought you in, the ambulance company bills you too.
Each has its own phone number and rules, so UMC's program covers UMC's own balance only.
Bill from | Who to call first | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
UMC (the hospital itself) | Eligibility Financial Service, 702-383-2350 | A Financial Relief Program screening and application |
UMC balance you can't pay at once | Patient Accounts, 702-383-2347 | A payment arrangement based on your balance |
Sunrise Health System hospital | The customer service number on your statement | A financial assistance (charity) review |
A doctor, radiologist, pathologist or ambulance | The number on that bill | Their own discount or payment plan |
A collection agency | The agency, in writing | The name of the provider, the date of service and the principal amount |
---
UMC's three layers of help
UMC's Financial Relief Program policy (formerly "Charity") sets up three kinds of help.
1. A self-pay discount. UMC offers a discounted self-pay rate to uninsured and underinsured patients. The policy says this discount is offered "regardless of income or Clark County residency status." Some services are excluded (see the list below).
2. The Financial Relief Program. Part or all of your balance is written off, apart from excluded services and anything outside funding covers.
3. Payment arrangements. Monthly plans, including for FRP copays.
Who can get FRP
Rule | What UMC's policy says |
|---|---|
Where you live | You must be a Clark County resident with a genuine Clark County home ("bonafide domicile") |
Income | Household income at or below 400% of the current Federal Poverty Guidelines for your family size |
When to apply | Before your first appointment in any UMC area |
Referral | You need a valid physician referral to a UMC physician. ER care and the related inpatient stay don't need a primary care referral |
Other coverage first | FRP applies only after other resources are used up, such as private insurance, CHIP, Medicare, Medicaid or agency funding |
Students under 26 | Unmarried full- or part-time students under 26 must give information about whether parental insurance is available |
At UMC the best time to ask for financial help is before you're ever billed. The policy expects the application to come before the first appointment, not after the statement.
The timing rules, in order
The policy's clocks, in order:
Screening. A financial counselor records your income and family size. If your application arrives within 30 days of that first screening, your eligibility can start on the screening date.
If care is urgent. Your doctor can mark the service "urgent" so you can be seen before financial counseling is finished. You then have 15 days to complete the process.
Return the application. Applications must be received within 30 days of the date the application is mailed or given to you.
Review. A complete application is reviewed within 30 business days. If UMC asks for more information, you have 15 days to send it.
Decision. You'll get a letter either way. An approval lasts 12 months and also applies to eligible balances from before you were approved.
If you're admitted, UMC's billing page says Financial Eligibility staff will meet with you within the first 24 hours of your stay.
What FRP costs you if you're approved
Service | FRP copay |
|---|---|
Outpatient services | $25 per visit (account) |
Hospital admission | $50 |
The policy warns that unpaid copays can lead to future FRP applications being denied until you pay them. If you have insurance and also qualify for FRP, the discount applies to your deductibles and coinsurance. You still pay the FRP copay unless your share is less than the copay.
What FRP won't discount
UMC's exclusions list includes cosmetic surgery, infertility services, prosthetics, sterilization and some medically unnecessary imaging, such as a full-body MRI. The list of included services covers inpatient and observation care, burn and wound care, UMC's primary care and quick care clinics, follow-up care for services done at UMC and "all medically necessary services." Cosmetic surgery isn't eligible for a payment plan.
---
UMC payment plans: the posted math
If you're not using FRP, or you still owe a balance, UMC's policy includes a payment plan table (Appendix F). Here it is as posted:
Balance | Usual request | Minimum payment | Manager-approved exception | Lowest possible payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Under $250 | 50% (2 months) | $25.00 | None | $25.00 |
$250 to $499.99 | 50% (2 months) | $50.00 | 10 equal installments | $25.00 |
$500 to $999.99 | 50% (2 months) | $75.00 | 12 equal installments | $41.67 |
$1,000 to $2,499.99 | 25% (4 months) | $140.00 | 18 equal installments | $55.56 |
$2,500 to $4,999.99 | 20% (5 months) | $150.00 | 32 equal installments | $78.13 |
Over $5,000 | 10% (10 months) | $250.00 | 48 equal installments | $104.00 |
The table adds that larger accounts go to a department head for review. Two rules are worth writing down:
A plan isn't valid until you make the first month's payment.
If you miss payments for two months in a row, the whole remaining balance becomes due and collections start again. To set up a new plan, you'd have to make a first payment again.
UMC's billing page warns that delinquent accounts go to an outside agency, which may charge interest. Call Patient Accounts before you fall behind.
What UMC says it won't do while you're asking for help
UMC's Billing and Collections policy (approved August 2022) contains several protections you can point to:
You can ask for an itemized statement at any time.
If you dispute a bill and ask for documentation, staff will send it in writing within 10 days (if possible). They'll also hold the account for at least 30 days before referring it to collections.
UMC won't send an account to collections while a claim is still pending with your insurer, or when the claim was denied because of a UMC error. It may still refer your own share of such a claim if you don't pay it.
UMC won't refer an account to collections after you've applied for Financial Relief and before it has told you its decision, as long as you met the application timeline and answered its requests.
"Extraordinary collection actions," such as credit reporting, can start only after 120 days have passed since the first post-discharge statement.
The policy also says that with an unpaid earlier balance, UMC may delay, deny or require payment before more non-emergency care. Get a plan or FRP decision on file early.
---
Sunrise Health System: charity and uninsured discounts
Sunrise Health System, part of HCA Healthcare, publishes its own rules. The financial assistance page describes two programs.
Program | Who it's for | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
Charity discount | Patients who got non-elective care, don't qualify for state or federal assistance and can't pay | In most cases, income of 0 to 200% FPL with supporting documents gets a 100% charity discount |
Expanded financial assistance | Documented income of 201% to 400% FPL and a balance over $1,500 | "May reduce the amount you owe." Contact the hospital to check eligibility |
Uninsured discount | Self-pay patients with no other payer who don't qualify for Medicaid, charity or another discount | A discount "similar to managed care." The amount varies by location |
Some locations use extra criteria, such as high medical costs, so ask even if you're near a cutoff.
Income proof. Medicare accounts and all non-Medicare inpatient accounts need income documents. The page lists a federal tax return as preferred for Medicare patients, or two items such as pay stubs, a state tax return or three months of bank statements.
Payment plans. Sunrise says that if you agree to a payment plan, you can ask to renegotiate it, including a new look at your finances. For a price estimate before planned care, its pricing line is (888) 253-1108. For a question about a bill you already have, Sunrise says to call the customer service number on your statement.
---
If a Las Vegas medical bill goes to collections
Nevada added medical debt protections to its collection agency law (NRS Chapter 649) in 2021. They cover debt for care from a medical facility, a health care provider or an ambulance or fire-department transport.
Nevada rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
60-day notice (NRS 649.366) | At least 60 days before taking any collection action, the agency must mail you a notice naming the provider, the date of service and the principal amount |
Voluntary payments (NRS 649.367) | During those 60 days, an agency can take a payment only if you contact it first. It must tell you no payment is demanded or due, and that the debt won't be reported to a credit agency during that period |
Payment isn't an admission | A voluntary payment doesn't extend the statute of limitations and isn't an admission that you owe the debt |
Lawsuit limits (NRS 649.368) | An agency can't file a regular civil suit over a medical debt whose principal is below the justice court limit in NRS 73.010. Small claims actions are still allowed |
Fee cap | Collection or attorney's fees can't be more than 5% of the principal |
No waivers (NRS 649.369) | You can't sign these protections away |
---
Your step-by-step plan
Separate the bills. Put the hospital, doctor, radiology, pathology and ambulance bills in separate piles. Note the date of service and the phone number on each one.
For UMC care, call 702-383-2350 first. Ask for a Financial Relief Program screening. If you have an upcoming appointment, do it before that date.
Return the application within 30 days, with residency, income and insurance documents.
Answer any request for more information within 15 days. Keep copies.
For Sunrise care, call the customer service number on your statement. Ask for a charity review. If your income is above 200% FPL and you owe more than $1,500, ask about the expanded policy.
Set up a payment plan before the account is past due. At UMC, the first payment makes it valid.
If a collector writes, keep the letter and check the 60-day notice date.
Before you call
☐ Your statement, with the account number and date of service
☐ Proof that you live in Clark County, such as a lease, a utility bill or mail
☐ Recent pay stubs, benefit letters or your latest tax return
☐ The number of people in your household
☐ Any insurance, Medicare or Medicaid card
☐ A call log: date, name and what you were told
☐ For UMC: the date of your next scheduled appointment
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
|
More help in Las Vegas
Related guides
Official sources
Last checked: October 23, 2026. UMC terms are from its Financial Relief Program policy (last reviewed July 5, 2022) and its Billing and Collections policy (August 2022). Sunrise terms are from its posted financial assistance page. Nevada rules are from NRS 649.036 to 649.369.
Comments