Community Care: Helping You Get the Care You Need
Fairview’s community care program provides financial assistance, counseling and social services to patients who cannot pay all or part of their hospital bills. This program is part of our mission to provide quality medical services to all people in our community. We treat our patients with dignity and respect, regardless of their ability to pay for our services.
If you need medical care but can’t afford it, let us know. If you don’t have insurance or can’t pay for costs not covered by your insurance, you can apply for community care financial assistance. Your eligibility will be based on a review of your finances including family income.
We understand there could be many reasons why you may not be able to pay for medical care. Perhaps you or your spouse have a new job but must wait for insurance coverage to start. You may have lost your job and the medical insurance it provided. You may have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing illness. Whatever the reason, you still need medical treatment.
Charges for services provided by our facilities can be considered for community care. These may include room charges, meals, lab tests, X-rays and medical supplies.
Community care does not cover charges for:
- procedures that are not medically necessary (elective procedures such as cosmetic surgery)
- care that is not available at our facilities
- which you may be responsible if you do receive county assistance
- services not covered by Minnesota Medical Assistance
- professional services rendered at our facilities by independent contractors
- physician services not billed by Fairview
- out-of-network services
- foreign or out-of-state services
- services that would have qualified for insurance coverage if received at another facility.
If you have applied for financial assistance elsewhere and it has been denied, contact our hospital business office for a community care application. You will be asked to provide details of your family size and finances, including debts you owe, money you have saved and income you earn. This information will be used by the business office staff only to determine your eligibility for community care.
To apply for community care...
Before you apply, you must try to obtain financial assistance from the county. In many cases, the county can help you pay for your doctor bill and medication costs as well as your hospital charges. To apply for community care:
- Contact our financial coordinator or business office representative for sources of financial assistance available in the community.
- If you are denied financial assistance from other sources, request written proof of denial. Then you may request an application form for our community care program. Forms are available in our business office.
- Attach a copy of your proof of denial, your most recent federal income tax return and any supporting schedules, and pay stubs reflecting your most recent 12-month salary history.
- Return your completed application to the hospital business office.
- The financial coordinator will contact you to explain the results of your application.
If you have questions about this process, please call our central business office customer service center, 612-672-6724.