Why am I receiving a bill?

Our first statement is informational only, if you have insurance coverage.  We just want to let you know that we have billed your insurance company for the services.  If you do not have insurance coverage then we would expect payment within 30 days.  If you can’t pay your balance in full, you may request payment arrangements.

Why do I have 2 anesthesia charges for the same day? 

Some insurance companies require us to bill separate charges for the physician and the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist if both were performing services.  Once they are billed-the insurance company will approve the appropriate payment and process your claim.  

Why does my hospital bill have anesthesia charges on it?

The hospital charges for the anesthetic equipment, drugs and supplies that were used during your surgery.  Our anesthesia charge is for our professional services only during your surgical procedure.

Why is my insurance not paying my entire bill?  What do I need to do?

We are contracted with most of the major insurance companies.  When we have a contract, we must take a provider adjustment since you used a network provider. If the insurance company does not pay per our contract we will send in an appeal for additional payment.  At this point you really need to do nothing, unless you would like to call your insurance company.  

If we are not contracted with your insurance company, then the balance on the account becomes the patients responsibility.  At this point, you need to contact us and make payment arrangements with our office.  If a non-contracted insurance company pays substantially lower than the usual rates, we will assist you in getting your account reviewed by the insurance carrier.  Our experience shows that a large percentage of claims receive additional consideration by the Insurance Companies after review is requested by the patient and the provider. 

If I have Primary and Secondary Insurance how does this work?

We will file your claim to both insurance companies.  First we will file the primary insurance company and when they pay, we will then submit the claim to your secondary carrier with the explanation of benefits from the primary carrier.  We would like to have payment from the secondary insurance within 45-60 days of billing them. We try to follow-up with all the different companies, but sometimes we can’t get in touch or get straight answers, so you may be billed for the balance after this time.  The patients assistance in calling the Insurance Company for “short pay” or “slow pay” is always appreciated and usually effective in getting claims resolved.

Why did you bill my Health Insurance Carrier when this surgery is covered by another liability carrier?

We typically bill the insurance company that is provided to us by the Hospital admission’s department.  If we billed the wrong carrier please call us so we can re-issue our bill.  It is not unusual, however, for Health insurance companies to pay and later receive refunds from a “liability” carrier upon settlement of a claim.

Why hasn’t my Insurance Company been billed?

We bill using the insurance information provided by the Mercy Hospitals' admitting office.  Frequently,  we are provided the wrong insurance information or no insurance information. Our first statement indicates which carrier we billed.  If you see problems, please contact our office so we may bill the proper carrier.

Do we make payment arrangements?

We understand that patients may not be able to pay their balances in full, so we have several employees assigned to making acceptable payment arrangements with our patients.  Typically, we can set up arrangements over a several month period.  Call our office and request to talk to an agent regarding this option.

Why am I being charged for an office visit for the Surgical Prequalification Clinic at Mercy Hospitals?

The main purpose of the Mercy Hospitals Prequalification Clinic is to improve overall preoperative medical evaluation of all surgical patients.  Quality preoperative medical evaluation and intervention is tantamount to the prevention of untoward intraoperative and postoperative events.  The clinic is designed to also increase patient satisfaction by allowing the patient to have an appointment with an Anesthesiologist several days preoperatively to discuss their medical and surgical concerns, discuss their planned anesthetic, to understand their anesthetic risks and complications and to learn of the postoperative treatment options.  By its design, the prequalification clinic also is beneficial to the efficiency of the surgical experience by preventing unnecessary last minute delays, laboratory tests or medical consultation and possible cancellation of their procedure.

The experience of the Mercy Hospitals Prequalification Clinic has demonstrated significant reductions in the ordering of unnecessary preoperative screening laboratory tests, chest x-ray and electrocardiograms.  Patients are seen and evaluated prospectively; therefore laboratory tests are ordered on a truly individual basis rather than preoperative laboratory routine screens ordered without knowledge of the patient’s medical history.  The clinic has been strongly supported by the surgical staff as well as Hospital Administration for its improvement on quality patient care, increase in surgical schedule efficiency and cost savings in the ordering of less preoperative laboratory tests. Our group charges a nominal fee for only patients that are seen in the clinic. 

Do you accept Credit Cards?

Yes!  We accept MasterCard, Visa and Discover.  Call our office and we can process your credit card payment electronically.

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