Uninsured Patients

Winter Haven Hospital provides assistance to patients that are uninsured.

Winter Haven Hospital’s Financial Counseling Unit helps uninsured patients understand what financial options are available to them whether they receive emergency care in the ER or are admitted to the hospital by their physician. Routinely, an uninsured patient is interviewed and screened for Medicaid eligibility as well as eligibility for Polk County’s uninsured program, Polk HealthCare Plan. In the event the patient does not qualify for either program, the patient’s income and assets are reviewed to determine whether or not they are eligible for Winter Haven Hospital’s charity program.

In order to be eligible for charity assistance, the patient must earn less than 125% of the state’s poverty threshold or demonstrate a catastrophic medical event. In catastrophic situations, the patient would never owe anymore than 25% of his/her income to satisfy their financial responsibility to the hospital, no matter how large the hospital bill. In either situation, the patient completes a charity application and provides the hospital with proof of income. Many times, a patient qualifies for a discount at a minimum of 50%, to as high as an 80% discount, depending on income and family size. The charity policy offers sliding scale charity discounts to patients whose income is up to 350% of the federal poverty limit in Florida.

The Financial Counseling Unit also helps underinsured patients (patients that have insurance plans that provide very limited coverage) by reviewing discount options at the time of service.

Uninsured patients that do not qualify for any federal/state or county programs can choose to receive a discount by selecting from a variety of payment plans. Whatever the situation, Winter Haven Hospital’s Financial Counselors are here to help meet the needs of the uninsured patient Monday through Friday, 7am to 7 pm, and Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, please visit the Patient Access Center in the lobby of the hospital.