Each year, Texas hospitals deliver billions of dollars in charity care – free or discounted care for patients who can’t afford it. Nonprofit hospitals have a legal duty to deliver charity care to demonstrate they are providing benefits to the community they serve.
Texas boasts one of the most stringent charity care laws in the nation, setting strict minimums on what nonprofit hospitals must spend on charity care and community benefit.
Recent reporting continues to show that all 127 nonprofit hospitals subject to the state’s law on charity care and community benefit met the standards required by law. According to the most recent state report on nonprofit hospital community benefits, hospitals across Texas collectively provided billions of dollars in excess charity care and other community benefits – far surpassing the minimum requirements established under state law.
This page contains information on Texas’ charity care law and the performance of Texas hospitals in serving their communities with free or discounted care.
Unseen Savings: Charity Care, Community Benefit and the Safety Net
Continued investment in charity care and community benefit programs remains a cornerstone of Texas’ health infrastructure.
The Texas Standard: Champions of Charity Care
Texas requires healthy amounts of support for those who can’t afford to pay for treatment. Its hospitals deliver all that support and more, setting a national standard for charity care and community benefits.
Texas Hospitals Going Above and Beyond on Charity, Indigent Care
Everyone needs and deserves medical care.
Resources
- Nonprofit Charity Care and Community Benefit in Texas (THA white paper)
- Charity Care and Community Benefit in Texas: Frequently Asked Questions (Feb. 2026)
- Texas Article IX Hospital Charity Care and Transparency Report (Myers and Stauffer)
- Texas Tax Code: Charity Care and Community Benefits Requirements (Sec. 11.1801)
THA Worksheet S-10 Reference Guide for Texas Hospitals, First Edition
Medicare Cost Report Worksheet S-10 provides for the collection of uncompensated and indigent care data for hospitals that are required by federal law to report it. This THA guide was created to assist Worksheet S-10 preparers and users of data reported on the worksheet.