Billing and Payment Payment is expected at the time of service. We accept cash, personal checks, credit cards (Visa and Mastercard), and check cards. There is a 30% courtesy discount for all self-pay patients paying in full at time of service. We will gladly file insurance for patients who participate in our managed care plans after we have verified their benefits. In order to file for you, we require proof of insurance prior to the appointment with the physician. We require payment of co-pays or deductibles at the time of service. Please contact the office to determine if we are providers for your managed care program. Billing for Medical Services Services charged to your account reflect the level of service provided to your child. Our billing follows the industry-standard practices of the Current Procedural Terminology guidelines. Because we can not predict exactly what services will be provided for your child, we can not precisely tell you ahead of time how much your charges will be. For example: if a child comes for a re-check visit, but has new symptoms that are not related to the original diagnosis and the child is treated or diagnosed for those new symptoms, the charges for the re-check visit will reflect the higher level of service provided. In addition, our charges reflect the primary reason for the visit (ie: well check-up vs. sick visit). We may bill for a “sick visit” on the same day as your “well visit” In accordance with industry-standard practices, if your child is evaluated for a significant illness or prescribed a new medication during a scheduled well-child check, we may bill a “sick visit” in conjunction with the well visit. Your insurance will process the sick visit according to your plan guidelines, applying copay, coinsurance, and/or deductibles as applicable. You will be responsible for any amount your insurance plan deems your responsibility, and you will receive a bill for these additional services. We do not routinely collect sick visit copays if you are only scheduled for a well child check. Any copay applied by your insurance carrier will be billed to you on your next statement. Services included in a typical well visit include health, developmental, and growth assessments; routine recommended labs and screening tests; a review of minor health concerns; sports physical and paperwork; review and catch-up of routine immunizations; and anticipatory guidance. Services not included in a typical well visit include evaluation or management of new or existing significant health problems, evaluation or management of mental health disorders (including depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, or school difficulties), review of multiple new or ongoing concerns, coordination of care among multiple specialists and ancillary health providers, or addressing health concerns of siblings. If these kinds of services are undertaken during a well encounter, you will be billed for both a sick encounter and the well encounter on the same day. Our billing policies have been established to fulfill Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) guidelines. This is required by both Federal Law (for Medicare and Medicaid) and your insurance carrier (for commercial insurance). If you have any questions about your child’s bill, please contact our office. Statements Account statements are sent each month to all patients with balances that are patient responsible. Insurance billable items are not billed to you until your insurance company informs us that the charges are your responsibility. If you believe that we are billing you in error please let us know immediately. No Shows Repeated No-Shows for scheduled appointments are subject to a $25.00 fee per instance. We may also dismiss patients and families who repeatedly do not show for their scheduled appointments. Walk-Ins We encourage all patients to make an appointment, so we have adequate time to see everyone. If our schedule permits, we can ‘squeeze in’ a limited number of walk-in patients. Walk-ins will always be seen after scheduled patients, and we do not guarantee that walk-in patients can be seen. Patients who ask to be seen by a physician without a scheduled appointment will be charged a $45.00 walk-in fee. Copies of Charge Tickets If you would like an itemized copy of the services provided to you, please ask for one when you check-out. If at a later date you require copies from us, please log into your portal account and click “Billings & payments” on the left navigation panel. Returned Checks Patients whose checks are returned by our bank will be charged a $15.00 fee. Refunds Refunds are issued to all patient accounts that have a credit balance of over $50.00. When possible, this is done at the beginning of each month. Collections Accounts with balances older than six months, which have not had payment on the oldest balance for that period of time, may be turned over to a collection agency. Price Increases Our price schedule is reviewed on an annual basis. IF YOU FEEL THAT, BECAUSE OF YOUR PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ABIDE BY THE POLICY STATED ABOVE, PLEASE TALK TO US ABOUT MAKING SPECIAL PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOUR FAMILY. Thank you for choosing Pediatric Physicians, PC. Pediatric Physicians - Happy, Healthy, Safe