Billing and Financial Policy

Health care insurance is an arrangement between the carrier and the patient and is designed to offset a portion of the total cost of care.  You will be asked at each visit if your insurance is the same.  In order to process claims efficiently, you must provide us with current and accurate information.  This office will prepare any necessary reports or forms, using the information provided by you, to assist in making collections from insurance companies directly to the patient or to this office as a credit to the patient’s account.  For services or treatments denied or not covered by the patient’s insurance, the parent/guardian is responsible for the bill.

Please familiarize yourself with your specific policy by contacting your benefits office or by calling the phone number listed on your insurance identification card.  You should be aware of any deductibles, co-insurance, and co-payments, as well as non-covered services.  For patients with no insurance, payment is due in full at the time of service.  Payments for all copays and non-covered services is expected at each visit to our office.  Payment may be made by cash, personal check, Visa, or Mastercard.

Failure to Keep Appointments (“No Show”) Policy

Patients who are 15 minutes late or more will be marked as a “no show” and will be rescheduled for routine issues.  If the appointment is for an urgent need, the physicians will decide if you can be worked back into the schedule that day.

Our office allows no more than four failed appointments (“no shows”) per family within a twelve month period.  Failed appointments include well visits canceled or rescheduled less than 24 hours prior to appointment time, ill visits canceled or rescheduled less than 1 hour prior to appointment time, and any visit where the patient arrives 15 minutes or more after appointment time.  A verbal warning will be given on the first and second failed appointments and documented in the patient’s chart.  On the third failed appointment, a certified letter will be sent to the parent, guardian, or patient stating that the patient has one month to find another physician.  During this one month period, our office will continue to provide care if the patient becomes ill. All siblings in a family with four no shows will be discharged at the same time.

To prevent an appointment from being marked as failed, please call our office to cancel or reschedule your appointment 24 hours BEFORE the scheduled appointment time.  Failure to cancel or reschedule a well exam appointment at least 24 hours in advance will result in a charge of $25.00.  This fee is not billable to insurance and is the patient’s responsibility to pay.

The policies above help us provide quality care to our patients.  If you have any questions or need clarification of any of the above policies, please feel free to contact us.