Southern Illinois Healthcare and its hospitals care about you. If you believe you will not be able to pay your bill, ask for help from the SIH Health Care Financial Assistance program, ideally before you get care. Southern Illinois Healthcare and its hospitals provide the same quality of care to all people regardless of their ability to pay, so asking for assistance will not affect your care. If you have already received a bill and you are unable to pay all or part of it, you may still apply for financial help.
To get help, you must show need based upon your income as compared to government poverty guidelines and whether or not government assistance is available to you. Patients who receive help may be asked to pay only a part of or, in some cases, none of the amount they owe.
To ask about the SIH Health Care Financial Assistance program, please speak with the financial counselor at an SIH hospital either by visiting the hospital or by calling:
- Memorial Hospital of Carbondale- 618-549-0721 ext. 65123 or 65128
- Herrin Hospital- 618-942-2171 ext. 36140
- St. Joseph Memorial Hospital-618-684-3156 ext. 55330
For an application click one of the links below. If you need help filling out the form, please contact a financial counselor.
Southern Illinois Healthcare hospitals and facilities are a part of the southern Illinois community and they strongly support providing help to patients who cannot pay for their medical expenses. From April 2006 to March 2007 SIH provided nearly $8 million in financial aid to patients who were unable to pay.
The SIH Health Care Financial Assistance program uses Federal Poverty Guidelines of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you can show you earn less than two times the poverty level, the hospital may cancel all of the amount you owe. If you earn as much as four times the poverty level, financial help may still be available and you may be asked to pay only a part of your bill.
If, after assistance, you still owe more than 25 percent of your annual household income, further assistance from the hospital may be available. A hospital financial counselor will help you determine if you qualify and help you make arrangements to pay your bill.
Southern Illinois Healthcare also reserves the right to decide that a patient should have financial assistance for care if he or she is in an unusual situation such as being homeless, living in a shelter facility or is a victim of rape or other violent crime.
Notices regarding the SIH Health Care Financial Assistance program are clearly posted in all patient intake areas for your reference.
Southern Illinois Healthcare cares about you. If you are in need of financial assistance for your hospital care, please contact a financial counselor as early in your care as possible.
From People Who We Have Helped
“I want to thank you and SIH for your compassion and generosity.”
“This is a much needed blessing on my family. Keep up your commitment to providing quality health care to our area.”
“We are very thankful for such an arrangement to assist families like us who cannot afford health insurance.”