Financial Assistance Program

If you’re unable to pay your Essentia Health medical bills, ask about options for financial assistance. You may also review the plain language summary with options on how to pay for your medical care.

How Does Financial Assistance Work?

The Financial Assistance Program provides a discount on eligible medically necessary services provided by Essentia Health. It is not an insurance program, and certain services and providers are not covered.

Do I Qualify for Financial Assistance?

You may benefit from the Essentia Health Financial Assistance Program if you have applied for state or local assistance programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), meet certain income and asset guidelines and have large out-of-pocket costs and a limited ability to pay for your medically necessary care.

You may qualify for financial assistance through Essentia Health if you meet these guidelines:

• Have an annual household income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level
• Reportable assets may not exceed $75,000 for a household size of one, or $150,000 for a household size of two or more
• Apply for public/private assistance if you qualify, including Medical Assistance
• Provide a determination letter of any Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income claim
• Cooperate with your health insurance plan requirements, including seeing a provider within your network and referral/authorization guidelines
• Reside in an area serviced by Essentia Health
• Have received medically necessary and eligible services

*For households with more than 8 persons, add $5,500 for each additional individual.

How To Apply For Financial Assistance

If you meet our eligibility for financial assistance, we have a few different ways you can submit your application for our team to review:

• You can apply in your MyChart account and upload the required supporting documentation here:
  • MyChart Login Page
• Download a copy of our financial assistance application:
  • Financial Assistance Application [PDF]  
  • Spanish language application: Asistencia financiera [PDF]
• Email your completed application and required supporting documentation here:
  • FinancialAssistanceAppinfo@EssentiaHealth.org
• Mail your completed application and required supporting documentation to:
  
  Essentia Health
  Attention: BSC – Financial Assistance
  402 E 1st St
  Duluth, MN 55805

Once we receive your completed application with all your documents to determine if you are eligible for financial assistance, your account(s) will be held from collection activity until a decision is made. Please understand that Essentia Health cannot continuously hold accounts due to lack of cooperation or timely follow up. If your application and required documents are not received, normal collection efforts may resume. You will need to reapply with updated documentation to receive ongoing financial assistance each year.

Catastrophic Discount

If you experience a severe illness or injury and your medical bills are greater than $5,000.00 you may qualify for Essentia Health’s Catastrophic Discount. This “once in a lifetime” adjustment is for households with an income above 200 percent of the federal poverty level who have exhausted all other payment options. You can apply for this partial adjustment to your medical bill using our financial assistance application under the “How to Apply for Financial Assistance” section above.

Uninsured Discount

If you do not have health insurance, Essentia will first apply the Uninsured Patient Discount to any qualifying services. Then, we’ll use the Financial Assistance Program income-based discount on the remaining balance, if you qualify for the program.

Financial Help for Medications

Need help paying for your prescriptions? Talk to a pharmacy coordinator about financial help available for medications. Call your local Essentia pharmacy to learn more.

Financial Assistance Policy

Review our full Financial Assistance Program Policy [PDF].

Review a list of our Essentia Health locations eligible for financial assistance. 

Learn About Other Options

If you’re not eligible for the Financial Assistance Program, ask us about other programs that may help you pay your medical bills, such as short-term payment plans and long-term, zero-interest financing.

For uninsured patients who are or have received patient care, you can also work with Elevate Patient Financial Solutions. Elevate Patient Financial Solutions can help you seek assistance through county, state, and federal programs for your patient medical bills. Visit Elevate Patient Financial Solutions' website for contact information or to learn more.