Louisville Public Media
Jared Bennett
February 27, 2026
In 2021 Rochelle Hinkle had just retired from a career as a TARC bus driver and was adjusting to life on a fixed income.
Then, the medical bills started piling up.
On top of treatments for chronic health problems like carpal tunnel and diabetes, Hinkle, 52, needed expensive iron infusions and spent months in an air cast healing a broken toe.
Hinkle had insurance through her pension plan, but it didn’t cover all the costs from Norton Healthcare. A balance of $1,456 lingered.
“I was just kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to figure out where I was going to come up with this money to pay the bill,” Hinkle said in an interview with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
Hinkle stressed over the debt, but then she found a potential lifeline on the back of a bill. There, in the fine print, Norton laid out its financial aid policy, known in the healthcare industry as charity care. According to the hospital’s policy, Hinkle was eligible for totally free care.
