Orlando Hospital Bill Help 2026–27: Orlando Health and AdventHealth Financial Assistance, Income Limits and How to Apply
A hospital bill from a single emergency visit in Orlando can run into the thousands, even with insurance. Both of the area's big hospital systems, Orlando Health and AdventHealth, are nonprofits with written financial assistance policies, and both can cut a bill to zero for patients under their income limits.
The rules differ in important ways. Orlando Health's policy covers uninsured patients up to 300% of the federal poverty guidelines, while AdventHealth's 100% reduction stops at 250%. Here's how each works, what you'll need, and how long you have to apply.
Last checked October 2026. Sources: Orlando Health's Financial Assistance Policy (revised January 2026) and AdventHealth's Financial Assistance web page for AdventHealth Orlando, which includes its 2026 poverty table. This is general information. Your hospital's financial counselors make the final decision.
The Short Version
Orlando Health: uninsured households at or below 300% of poverty and insured households at or below 225% qualify for assistance on eligible services. There's also catastrophic help when bills exceed 15% of income, up to 500% of poverty.
AdventHealth: a 100% reduction for emergency or medically necessary care if household income is at or below 250% of poverty. Patients who qualify are never billed more than "amounts generally billed."
Deadline: Orlando Health accepts applications through at least 240 days after your first post-discharge bill.
Orlando Health financial assistance: 321-843-8955, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., FinancialAssistance@orlandohealth.com.
AdventHealth financial assistance: 800-462-0490. Billing customer service: 855-241-2455.
2026 Income Limits at a Glance
AdventHealth publishes the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines on its financial assistance page. The 250% column is its own cutoff. The Orlando Health columns are our calculation from the same 2026 guidelines.
| Household size | 225% (Orlando Health, insured) | 250% (AdventHealth) | 300% (Orlando Health, uninsured) | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | $35,910 | $39,900 | $47,880 | | 2 | $48,690 | $54,100 | $64,920 | | 3 | $61,470 | $68,300 | $81,960 | | 4 | $74,250 | $82,500 | $99,000 | | 5 | $87,030 | $96,700 | $116,040 | | 6 | $99,810 | $110,900 | $133,080 |
If you're a little over these numbers, still ask. Both systems mention case-by-case exceptions.
Orlando Health
Orlando Health's Financial Assistance Policy covers its acute care hospitals and hospital-based off-campus emergency departments. The policy lists the facilities in an attachment and links to a separate list of physicians who do and don't participate. Doctors who bill separately may not be covered, so check.
Who qualifies
Uninsured individuals or households at or below 300% of poverty
Insured households at or below 225% of poverty, for the amount you owe after insurance (copays, coinsurance, deductibles)
Medically indigent or catastrophic: if your medical bills are more than 15% of your household's gross annual income and your income is no more than 500% of poverty, you'll be considered for free care
You generally must live where Orlando Health operates acute care hospitals
The policy also says you'll be presumed eligible if you're uninsured or underinsured and you were discharged to a skilled nursing facility, have documented homelessness, died with no estate, or received a bankruptcy discharge. Orlando Health also uses an outside data screening tool that can approve some patients without full paperwork.
What counts as income and household
Orlando Health counts a long list of income, including wages, Social Security, unemployment, child support, alimony, pensions, workers' comp, dividends and interest, and the gross income of all working household members, including those under 18.
Your household is the patient, spouse, and natural or adopted children under 18. An adult dependent with a disability is also counted.
Before you're approved: other coverage first
The policy expects you to exhaust other funding before it steps in, including Marketplace plans, HSAs, employer coverage and even crowdfunding such as GoFundMe. If you look Medicaid-eligible, you must apply for Medicaid. A denial counts unless it was because you didn't apply, didn't follow through or didn't send requested documents.
Orlando Health also works with county and state programs, including Florida's Health Care Responsibility Act (HCRA).
What you get
The policy describes eligible patients as being considered for free care for eligible services. It also contains a separate clause referring to a 60% self-pay discount on total charges for eligible patients. The policy doesn't clearly explain how the two fit together, so ask the financial assistance team exactly what discount applies to your bill.
Approved assistance covers care 12 months before and 12 months after your approval date.
What's not covered
Elective care
Package-priced programs like cosmetic and bariatric surgery
Other services the policy deems non-medically necessary
Transplants and related services
Patients who haven't exhausted other funding
Certain reference-based pricing health plans
How to apply
Fill out a Guarantor Financial Statement Application (GFSA). You can:
Get it from the Orlando Health financial assistance website
Ask a financial counselor at any Orlando Health hospital, before, during or after your stay
Request it in writing
Call 321-843-8955 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) or email FinancialAssistance@orlandohealth.com
Bring or send:
Your full legal name and number of household members
Household income for the past 12 months
Tax returns, W-2s, 1099s, pay stubs and bank statements
Disclosure of assets you could convert to cash that aren't needed for daily living
Your signature on the GFSA
If your application is incomplete, Orlando Health says it will send a written notice listing what's missing. You'll get an approval or denial letter.
Your deadline
The Application Period starts on the date of care and ends on the later of the 240th day after your first post-discharge bill or 30 days after Orlando Health sends a written notice setting a deadline for collection actions. The policy defines those collection actions as lawsuits, selling the debt or reporting to credit bureaus. Apply early.
AdventHealth
AdventHealth's financial assistance page says no one will be denied access to services because they can't pay.
Who qualifies
To get a 100% reduction, AdventHealth says you must:
Have received emergency or medically necessary care
Have annual household income at or below 250% of poverty (see the table above)
Submit an application with supporting documentation. AdventHealth says income and financial verification is required.
The billing cap
If you qualify for assistance, AdventHealth says you'll never be billed more than "amounts generally billed" (AGB) for emergency or medically necessary care. AGB is based on the average discount Medicare, Medicare Advantage and commercial insurers got over a recent 12-month period. You can ask your hospital for its actual AGB percentage.
Some summaries describe a large discount for uninsured patients between 251% and 400% of poverty. AdventHealth's web page shows a 400% column in its table but doesn't describe that tier, and we couldn't open the full policy PDF. Ask a financial counselor if your income falls in that range.
How to apply
AdventHealth posts its Financial Assistance Policy, a plain-language summary and the application on its website in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Vietnamese and several other languages.
Financial assistance line: 800-462-0490
Mail: AdventHealth, PO Box 935979, Atlanta, GA 31193-5979
Fax: 423-485-6627
Billing customer service: 855-241-2455
AdventHealth's Central Florida hospitals covered on the page include AdventHealth Orlando (601 E. Rollins St., 407-303-5600), East Orlando, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Celebration, Kissimmee, AdventHealth for Children and AdventHealth for Women. The page links a list of participating physicians for each hospital.
Free help applying for Medicaid
AdventHealth partners with Apprio Health to help Florida patients apply for Medicaid, county programs and disability benefits for free. Call 888-595-6001.
Tips That Work at Either Hospital
Ask for the application before you pay anything. Don't put a big bill on a credit card first.
Request an itemized bill and check it for errors.
Apply for Medicaid if you might qualify. Both hospitals push you toward it, and Orlando Health requires it.
Keep copies of everything you send and write down who you talked to.
Watch the calendar. Orlando Health's 240-day window starts with your first bill after discharge.
Separate doctor bills. ER doctors, radiologists and anesthesiologists may bill on their own. Check each hospital's participating physician list.
What we couldn't confirm: AdventHealth's full Financial Assistance Policy PDF was blocked, so its application deadline, any discount above 250% of poverty, asset rules and residency rules aren't covered. Orlando Health's main financial assistance web page didn't load; we relied on its January 2026 policy PDF. The relationship between Orlando Health's "free care" language and its 60% self-pay discount clause is unclear (flagged above). Orlando Health income figures are our calculation from the HHS 2026 guidelines.
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