Benefits · Healthcare
How to apply for Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Financial Assistance
Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola — Ascension Health Florida market hospital (formerly Sacred Heart Hospital); 566-bed tertiary care center at 5151 N 9th Avenue, Pensacola FL 32504; principal hospital safety net serving Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, and the broader Northwest Florida Panhandle. Faith-based mission with a long-standing commitment to vulnerable patients
Who it's for
Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola — formerly Sacred Heart Hospital — is a 566-bed tertiary-care hospital at 5151 N 9th Avenue, Pensacola, and is the principal hospital serving Escambia County and the Northwest Florida Panhandle as a referral center for Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and adjacent counties. As an Ascension Health Florida affiliate, the hospital follows the Ascension system-wide Financial Assistance Policy: patients at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) qualify for 100% free care for emergency and medically necessary services. Patients with documented income between 201% and 400% FPL receive partial discounts on a sliding-scale basis. Ascension is a Catholic faith-based system with a stated mission to help the most vulnerable; uninsured patients who don't qualify under the standard FAP may still receive a separate uninsured discount program. Application can be completed online or by scanning the QR code on a paper bill; determinations are typically issued within 30 days. Apply by calling Patient Financial Services at 850-416-7000 or via the Ascension online application portal.
Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola uses the Ascension system standard: 0-200% FPL = 100% free care; 201-400% FPL = sliding-scale partial discounts. The modeled $31,200 income gate is the 200% FPL single-person 2026 threshold for the 100% tier; scales up by household size. Decision typically within 30 days of application submission. As a tertiary referral hospital, Ascension Sacred Heart treats complex cases referred from smaller regional hospitals — the FAP applies to the patient bill regardless of which referring hospital initiated care. For Escambia residents who are referred to Sacred Heart from Baptist Hospital Pensacola or West Florida Hospital, each system applies its own FAP separately; do not assume one application covers all systems.
What you'll need
- Completed Ascension Financial Assistance Application (online or paper)
- Proof of household income (recent pay stubs, Social Security award letter, tax return, SSA-1099)
- Proof of family/household size
- Photo identification
- Documentation of insurance status (insurance denial letter, Medicaid denial, or proof of uninsured status)
Where to apply
Apply online: official application
By phone: 850-416-7000
Renewals
per encounter; documentation refresh required for ongoing patients
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Find my benefitsNot legal or financial advice. The agency makes the final eligibility decision.