Georgia

Process / partial

Georgia has not fully expanded Medicaid (Pathways is a limited work-requirement program). Hospitals that take Indigent Care Trust Fund money must provide free care at or below 125% FPL and discounted care to 200% FPL — uninsured, and only at participating hospitals. Everyone else uses 501(r).

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-3-6 (Indigent Care Trust Fund) · compiled September 2026

Rule	This state
Free-care floor	125% FPL
Discount / eligibility floor	200% FPL
Covers insured patients	Uninsured-focused statute
Which hospitals	Some hospitals / programs only
Medicaid expansion	Not adopted
Screen before collections	Not required by state law
Credit reports	No state ban
Debt sales	Not banned
Home liens	Not banned
Wage garnishment	Federal CCPA cap (typically 25%)
Interest on medical debt	No special cap located
Collection hold	No extra state waiting period
Lawsuit clock	6 years · Ga. Code § 9-3-24

2026 poverty line here

Alaska and Hawaii use their own HHS tables. Everyone else uses the 48-state and D.C. figures, effective January 2026.

Household	100%	Free floor	Discount floor
1	$15,960	$19,950	$31,920
2	$21,640	$27,050	$43,280
3	$27,320	$34,150	$54,640
4	$33,000	$41,250	$66,000
5	$38,680	$48,350	$77,360
6	$44,360	$55,450	$88,720

What to do

01 Ask whether the hospital takes Indigent Care Trust Fund money. If yes, 125%/200% FPL is the floor for uninsured patients.
02 Georgia’s coverage gap is real. FAP at a nonprofit is often the only write-off path for childless adults.
03 Itemize and demand the self-pay schedule.
04 Six-year lawsuit window. Validate collectors.

Appeals

Federal No Surprises Act.

Insurance: Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance — external review

Medicaid: DCH fair hearing. Pathways is not full ACA expansion.

Medicare is federal regardless of state: redetermination, reconsideration, ALJ, Appeals Council, then district court.

Cite this in a letter

If this hospital participates in the Indigent Care Trust Fund, I request free or discounted care under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-3-6. I also request a 501(r) FAP review.

Put a Georgia bill in the machine.

The estimate will use this state’s floors. The letters will cite Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-3-6 (Indigent Care Trust Fund).

Start a Georgia case

Georgia Attorney General

Federal overlay — every state

501(r)
501(c)(3) hospital organizations must publish a Financial Assistance Policy, a plain-language summary, and generally may not take extraordinary collection actions (selling the debt, reporting it, liens, lawsuits) until they have made reasonable efforts to determine FAP eligibility.
No Surprises Act
Emergency services, air ambulance, and many out-of-network clinicians at in-network facilities cannot balance-bill beyond in-network cost-sharing. Independent dispute resolution is between the plan and the provider — not a reason to pay the sticker rate.
FDCPA
15 U.S.C. § 1692g. Within 30 days of first collector contact, demand validation. Until validated, collection and credit reporting should stop. Partial payment can restart a state’s statute of limitations.
EMTALA
Emergency departments must screen and stabilize regardless of ability to pay. An ER bill is not an agreement that chargemaster rates are the cash price.
Medicare appeals
Five levels: redetermination (MAC, 120 days), reconsideration (QIC), ALJ at OMHA, Medicare Appeals Council, then federal district court. A remaining patient balance is often a claim the provider still needs to work.
Credit bureaus
The CFPB’s 2025 medical-debt reporting rule was vacated in July 2025. Industry practice still generally omits paid medical collections and unpaid balances under $500. Unpaid medical debt over $500 can appear after a delay unless a state ban applies. FCRA-preemption fights over those state bans are ongoing.