Thank you for choosing Beittel-Becker Pediatric Associates as your pediatric provider. Our primary goal is to provide our patients with health care services of the highest quality. This goal is best achieved if everyone is aware of our policies. Your clear understanding of our financial policies is important to our professional relationship. The medical services you seek imply a financial responsibility on your part. This responsibility obligates you to ensure payment in full for the services you receive. To assist in understanding that financial responsibility, we ask that you become acquainted with our financial policy.
Your Responsibilities:
It is your responsibility to know your insurance benefits. Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. You are responsible for knowing what services are covered, how often (example – well visits), and how much of the cost is your responsibility.
You are responsible for:
- Your copay;
- Your coinsurance;
- Your deductible;
- Any services that your insurance does not cover.
You must provide current, complete, and accurate insurance information at every visit. This is to protect you from receiving a bill because we did not have correct insurance information.
You must present your insurance cards at every visit. Your insurance card contains essential information that helps us process claims efficiently and without errors. Bring your insurance card to every visit.
You must pay your copay at the time of the office visit.
Our agreements with insurance companies require us to collect your copay at the time of service. We accept cash, credit cards, and checks as forms of payment.
If your insurance plan requires you to choose a primary care provider, you must contact your carrier and select one of our doctors before your visit. In accordance with insurance guidelines, we cannot schedule any appointments or write any referrals until we receive notice that your child has been added to our roster.
Insurance:
We will prepare and send claims to your insurance. However, we remind you that your policy is an agreement between you and your insurance company. Please understand that you are responsible for your total obligation pertaining to your specific insurance plan. If we participate with your insurance, we have agreed to accept their fee schedule. After your insurance pays according to the specific benefits of your plan, they will send us the patient obligation, which may include amounts related to unpaid co-pays, co-insurance, or the plan deductible. We will send a statement for any remaining balance, which is payable within 30 days.
Personal Balances:
Personal balances are due immediately upon receipt of a bill. If your balance is not paid, we will resend a bill every 30 days. Failure to pay a balance after 90 days will trigger a late fee. See the “failure to pay” section below for how late balances are managed.
Payment arrangements:
We realize that financial problems may affect timely payment of your account. If you are unable to pay your responsibility in full within 30 days, please contact us promptly to discuss payment arrangements. We are able to store a credit card on-file and arrange short-term payment arrangements.
Nonpayment:
Failure to pay any balance(s) associated with your account after 90 days will incur a $25.00 late fee which covers the additional costs incurred on our end that stem from late payments (e.g., administrative time and postage costs associated with mailing multiple bills). We will send a final notice letter notifying you of your unpaid balance. If no attempt is made to resolve the balance by the due date on the final notice letter, we will forward the unpaid balance to a collection agency. A 33.0% charge will be added to the balance to cover the fee charged by the collection agency. Your family will be dismissed from our practice. We will still provide acute services for your children for 30 days. If you have been dismissed from our practice, and you wish to rejoin, all balances in collections must be paid, and a $25.00 reinstatement fee per child is due prior to rejoining. A second balance sent to collections will result in permanent dismissal from our practice.
Same Day Preventative and Acute Visits:
Preventative well child visits are normally covered 100% by insurance. When your child is seen for a well child visit, there may be situations when he or she needs additional services that are not considered preventative. If a problem is found that needs to be addressed or you want a problem addressed that is not related to the preventative well child visit, the provider will need to provide services in addition to the preventative exam. These additional services will be billed to your insurance in addition to the preventative service. These services would also incur financial responsibility as well, such as a copay for an office visit, which must be paid at the time of service. After your insurance processes the claims, any coinsurance or deductibles must be paid within 30 days of receipt of your bill. Examples of additional services include, but are not limited to:
- Provider’s treatment of minor problems;
- Medical treatments (nebulizer treatment; wart removal);
- Minor surgical procedures (removal of foreign body; splinter removal).
Evening/Saturday After Hours Charge
As a convenience to our parents, we offer appointments after our standard 8am-5pm office hours. We charge a $25.00 after hours fee for this service. Insurance plans and parents both recognize that this fee is a cost-effective alternative to an Emergency Room/Urgent Care visit and/or leaving work to bring your child in to be seen. This fee is added to all visits that are provided:
- After 5:00 pm on weekdays;
- On Saturdays.