Emergencies
The Woman's Place, P.A. (TWP) defines "Emergencies" as
a condition that presents a threat of loss of life or limb without
medical intervention. The Physicians believe in treating Emergencies
regardless of a patient's ability to pay.
To make our services available for those who need them, TWP must
receive prompt payment for the services it provides. TWP reserves
the right to withhold treatment for non-emergency patients that refuse
to make satisfactory payment arrangements upon request.
Payments
TWP accepts cash, check, electronic payments, credit, and debit
cards (Visa, MasterCard & Discover Only). A $30.00 returned check
fee will be assessed for any returned checks.
Surgical Fees, Procedures, Deposits & Payment Plans
Our fees depend on the nature of the procedure and the complexity
of care. We will prepare an estimate of your charges based on the
planned surgery/procedure and information we obtain from your insurance
company. However, unplanned events or emergencies may require additional
fees. Assistant surgeon fees may also apply. We ask that you plan
to pay the estimate of charges at the time of your pre-operative
appointment for surgeries. For obstetrical services we ask that you plan to pay the estimate in full prior to the delivery of your baby.
Insurance Coverage
From time to time we have had patients who assume that their insurance
company will pay all their medical bills in full. Very few insurance
companies cover 100% of all medical bills. In most cases, there will
be a deductible, co-payment, and/or co-insurance that patients must
pay out-of-pocket. Often insurance companies deny payment for "non-covered" services.
Patients will be billed for non-covered services. Each patient is
responsible for providing accurate information to TWP and ultimately
paying for services not covered by insurance. The Woman's Place,
P.A. is committed to assisting our patients in determining and controlling
the cost of their medical care.
We bill most insurance plans as a courtesy to our patients. We ask
that you provide complete and up-to-date billing information to allow
us to submit accurate claims. We automatically file all Medicare
and Medicaid claims. Medicaid (including Unicare and Children's Mercy Family Health Practice)
cardholders are asked for their cards at the initial visit and each
subsequent visit. Patients who do not follow the guidelines set by
their insurance will be responsible for denied services. This includes
failure to obtain required referrals per your insurance plan.
Should you disagree with the way your insurance company has paid
a claim we suggest that you first contact your insurance company.
We do not have any means of knowing the specific coverage of your
plan. If in discussion with your insurance company you learn that
we did something wrong then please advise our billing office of the
error. Please also advise us of the insurance person with whom you
discussed the problem as well as their phone number so that we can
properly follow up with the problem.
Regardless of your insurance coverage, your account becomes your
responsibility after 60 days from Date of Service.
Insurance Co-Payments
If your insurance plan requires that you pay a co-payment, you are
expected to pay this at the time of service. A $15.00 billing fee
will be added to visits where the co-payment was not paid at the
time of service.
Uninsured Patients
New patients who do not have insurance coverage will be required
to Pay-In-Advance for all services until credit is established. A $200.00 deposit is required at the
first visit. Exceptions may be made in Emergency cases. Established
patients with a poor payment history will be required to pay for
all services in advance of receiving the service.
Bankruptcy
The Woman's Place reserves the right to treat accounts included
in Bankruptcy on a case-by-case basis. Patients may be terminated
from TWP at the Board's discretion. A letter of termination will
require the patient to seek medical care elsewhere. Patients allowed
to remain in the practice will be designated a Pay-In-Advance account
and will be required to pay for all services at the time of service.
If you have insurance we may charge you the full price for the service
and then refund amounts overpaid after your insurance company makes
payment to us. Credit will not be extended with the exception of
Emergency services.
Statements
Statements are mailed monthly. These will show you what is pending
with insurance and what co-insurance or deductible amount that you
may owe. Payment is expected within 10 days.
Refunds and Small Balances
In an effort to limit trivial transactions between the practice
and our patients, in general, if your balance is less than $5.00
we will write-off that balance and not bill you for it. Likewise,
if we owe you less than $5.00, unless you specifically request otherwise,
we will write-off these small balances as well. We will not write
off these balances when there are outstanding insurance claims or
you have an appointment scheduled within the next three months.
Refunds are made after all related insurance claims have been settled.
Collections
Accounts with services over 60 days old are considered Past Due.
TWP's Billing Office Staff will make reasonable attempts to notify
you if your account has reached a Past Due status. It is important
that all changes in your name, address, phone number, insurance,
or employment be relayed to our office as it can affect the billing
of your account. If we are unable to locate a patient, payment is
not received, or satisfactory payment arrangements are not made,
then an account will be considered for referral to our collection
agency. TWP reserves the right to treat accounts referred for Collections
on a case-by-case basis. Patients may be terminated from the practice
at our discretion, which requires the patient to seek medical care
elsewhere. Patients allowed to remain in the practice will be designated
as Pay-In-Advance. Patients with old, past due balances will be required
to bring their account current before care such as, appointments,
prescription refills or telephonic medical advice will be provided.
Credit will not be extended with the exception of Emergency services.
Lack of Cooperation
We are blessed with patients that assist us in completing our work
in an efficient and accurate manner. TWP believes that all patients
should be treated with dignity regardless of their ability to pay.
We reserve the right to terminate a patient from the practice in
those rare cases when a patient may be verbally or physically abusive,
refuses to give necessary information, or is non-compliant with medical
advice.
Commitment to Quality
The Woman's Place is committed to Continuous Quality Improvement.
We apologize for the occasional errors that occur and appreciate
your assistance in correcting them. If you are treated in an unprofessional
manner, if there are services you would like to see us provide, or
if you have positive comments or suggestions that allow us to serve
you better, please do not hesitate to notify us.
1. Comment Cards are available in the Lobby and may be left in the
Suggestion Box
2. Correspondence may be mailed to Quality Assurance, Personal & Confidential,
The Woman's Place, 1818 East 23rd Avenue, Hutchinson, KS 67502
3. Phone Calls should be directed to Administrative Staff at (620)
662-2229.
Credit & Payment Policy Page 1 of 2 Revised January 18, 2006
