Health facilities: hospitals; hospital financial assistance act; enact. Creates new act.

This bill establishes the Hospital Financial Assistance Act, which requires hospitals in Michigan to create and enforce financial aid programs for patients by January 1, 2027. The law mandates that these programs use federal poverty guidelines to determine eligibility, offering up to a full discount on medical bills for uninsured individuals earning at or below 350% of the poverty line. Hospitals must also publish clear information about these programs on their websites and in billing statements, and they are required to submit annual reports detailing the number of applications and the amount of debt forgiven or collected. To ensure compliance, the state Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the process, investigate complaints, and impose civil fines of up to $10,000 on hospitals that fail to follow the new rules.