Lakes Regional Healthcare — financial assistance and billing help
2301 Highway 71, Spirit Lake, IA 51360 · Dickinson County
Lakes Regional Healthcare is a government-owned hospital. Federal Section 501(r) rules apply to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, so they may not bind this hospital directly — but public hospitals almost always operate a charity care or sliding-scale program under state or local law, and many are also separately organised as 501(c)(3) entities. Ask for the financial assistance or charity care policy by name, in writing.
The federal record for this hospital
Every field below comes from the federal hospital registry — useful both for checking you have the right facility and for addressing a letter correctly.
| Legal name on file | Lakes Regional Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Address | 2301 Highway 71, Spirit Lake, IA 51360 |
| Telephone | (712) 336-1230 |
| Facility type | Acute Care Hospitals |
| Ownership | Government - Local |
| Emergency department | Yes — EMTALA emergency screening and stabilisation rules apply |
| CMS overall rating | 2 out of 5 stars |
| Medicare CCN | 160124 |
Source: CMS Hospital General Information (Provider Data Catalog, dataset xubh-q36u), published 2026-05-13. If a detail here is out of date, the hospital's own billing office is authoritative — and we would like to know: support@billstand.com.
What this hospital is required to do
- Treat and stabilise you in an emergency. Under EMTALA, any hospital with an emergency department must screen and stabilise an emergency condition regardless of your ability to pay.
- Follow its state or local charity care rules. Public hospitals are typically bound by state statute, county ordinance or their own board policy to run an indigent care or sliding-scale program. These are often more generous than private hospital policies, not less.
- Give you an itemized bill. You are entitled to a fully itemized statement showing every charge with its procedure code — the starting point for any dispute.
- Respect federal collection law. Once an account moves to a third-party collector, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies in full, including your right to demand written validation of the debt.
Where your leverage is. Ask specifically for "the charity care or financial assistance policy and application" and for confirmation of whether this facility is also a 501(c)(3) organisation. If it is, the full Section 501(r) protections apply on top of anything state law provides.
What Lakes Regional Healthcare bills, and what it is actually paid
These are federal figures for this specific hospital: the average amount it submitted to Medicare for a stay, next to the average amount it was actually paid. The gap is not a scandal — no hospital collects its list price from anyone — but it is the reason a sticker-price bill is a starting point rather than a final number.
For its most common inpatient stay, Lakes Regional Healthcare billed about $43,362 and was paid about $13,677 — roughly 3.2 times less than the amount on the bill.
| Type of stay | Average billed | Average paid | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major hip and knee joint replacement or reattachment of lower extremity without MCCMS-DRG 470 · 34 Medicare stays | $43,362 | $13,677 | 3.2× |
| Simple pneumonia and pleurisy with CCMS-DRG 194 · 21 Medicare stays | $16,083 | $6,158 | 2.6× |
| Septicemia or severe sepsis without MV >96 hours with MCCMS-DRG 871 · 21 Medicare stays | $18,620 | $14,247 | 1.3× |
| Heart failure and shock with MCCMS-DRG 291 · 19 Medicare stays | $19,755 | $9,339 | 2.1× |
| Kidney and urinary tract infections without MCCMS-DRG 690 · 19 Medicare stays | $14,778 | $5,818 | 2.5× |
| Pulmonary edema and respiratory failureMS-DRG 189 · 16 Medicare stays | $20,810 | $8,900 | 2.3× |
| Miscellaneous disorders of nutrition, metabolism, fluids and electrolytes without MCCMS-DRG 641 · 16 Medicare stays | $14,791 | $5,646 | 2.6× |
| Medical back problems without MCCMS-DRG 552 · 12 Medicare stays | $16,159 | $6,913 | 2.3× |
Source: CMS Medicare Inpatient Hospitals — by Provider and Service, 2024 data, published 2026-04-23. These figures cover Medicare patients at this hospital and are not a quote for your care — use them as a documented benchmark, not a prediction.
How to ask Lakes Regional Healthcare for help — in writing
- Ask for the documents by name. Request the financial assistance policy, the application form, the plain-language summary, and the uninsured or self-pay discount policy. Naming the documents matters — a general request for "help with my bill" gets a payment plan offer instead.
- Ask for a fully itemized statement with every charge and its procedure code, for the dates of service on your bill.
- Ask for the account to be held. Request in writing that no late fees, interest, credit reporting or collections referral occur while your application or dispute is pending.
- Send it certified with return receipt — roughly $9 at USPS. Proof of delivery is what makes a deadline enforceable later.
- Give a deadline and follow up. Ask for a written response within 30 days, and if none arrives, send a shorter second notice referencing the first by date.
Do not agree to a payment plan on the phone before the amount itself is resolved. A plan converts a disputed bill into an admitted debt you have started paying.
Questions about Lakes Regional Healthcare bills
Does Lakes Regional Healthcare offer financial assistance?
Ask Lakes Regional Healthcare in writing for its financial assistance or charity care policy and application. Public and other facilities generally operate assistance programs under state, local or program-specific rules.
How do I get an itemized bill from Lakes Regional Healthcare?
Request it in writing from the billing office, referencing your account number and dates of service, and ask for every charge with its procedure code. The first statement you receive is usually a summary, and you cannot dispute charges you cannot see. The number in the federal registry for this hospital is (712) 336-1230, but put the request in writing so there is a record of it.
How long do I have before Lakes Regional Healthcare can send my bill to collections?
Federal Section 501(r) deadlines apply to nonprofit hospitals, so they may not bind this facility. Ask the billing office in writing to confirm its collections timeline and to place the account on hold while any assistance application or dispute is pending.
Is the bill from Lakes Regional Healthcare negotiable?
Hospital charges are not fixed prices — insurers pay a fraction of the listed amount every day. Federal data shows this hospital was paid roughly 3.2 times less than it billed for its most common inpatient stay. A specific, written request — a self-pay discount, a financial assistance review, or a dispute of incorrect charges — is what a billing department can act on.