Office Policies
Financial Policy
Upon Registration We will need the following information and items: Insurance Card (if you’re a member of one of the plans we accept); the name, date of birth, employer and address of the plan member; the patient’s address, date of birth, and contact phone numbers for both parents and/or all guardians.
Health Insurance Cards
When scheduling each appointment, our team will verify your insurance information. Our office staff will verify your eligibility prior to or at check-in for each appointment. If your insurance information changes, please notify us as soon as possible. Please make sure you bring your card to every appointment.
Health Insurance Plans
Because we participate with many different plans, we can’t know the provisions of each patient’s policy. We do recommend that you make every effort to understand your insurance coverage and, if necessary, to contact your carrier before receiving services, so you can verify your coverage levels (such as those for preventive care), co-pay, deductible, and co-insurance responsibilities.
Co-Payments
We’re contractually obliged to collect, and you’re responsible to pay, your co-payment at the time of your visit. Please have your co-payment ready at check-out. If you don’t pay your co-payment at the time of service, we’ll need to add a fee (currently $5) for the cost of billing you.
Missed Appointments
Life happens, so we understand that sometimes you can’t make your appointment. Please call us at least one full business day in advance to cancel or change an appointment. If you don’t call to cancel in advance, we reserve the right to charge a Failed to Keep Appointment fee (currently $25) to cover the cost of the unfilled appointment slot.
Balances & Deductibles
We’re responsible, as detailed by the terms of our contracts with health insurance companies, for billing you for any portion of your treatment that your health insurance carrier does not pay and assigns as your responsibility. You are responsible for paying this portion of your bill.
Late Fees / Collections
If you don’t make full payment (or call to set up a payment plan) within a reasonable time period, you will be charged a $5 billing fee each billing cycle to cover the cost of sending you a bill.If your account maintains an open balance, it may be sent to collections and subject to an additional 25% collection fee. If you’re having difficulty meeting medical bills, please let us know. We’ll be happy to help you by setting up a payment plan.We encourage our patients to take advantage of this option, as we may have to dismiss from our practice patients who fail to meet their financial obligations.
Returned Checks
If you pay by check and your check is returned for insufficient funds (NSF), you’ll be responsible for the amount of the check, plus a returned check fee of $25. If more than one check is returned in any given period, we reserve the right to require all future payment by cash or credit card to prevent those situations from recurring.
Forms
The cost of researching, filling out, and signing forms is not covered by health insurance programs. We charge a nominal fee to cover the costs of completing these forms. The fees are posted in the check-in area and may change from time-to-time.
Guarantor
The parent or guardian who signs the patient’s paperwork is the party responsible for all charges and payments. Due to confidentiality laws, we can only bill the person who signs the practice paperwork. Therefore, if the person responsible for the medical bill changes, the new guarantor must fill out a new set of paperwork. If your payment circumstances change, please inform us right away.
Self-Pay Patients
If you don’t have health insurance, we’re out-of-network for your particular insurer, or you’re receiving a non-covered service, payment at the time of the visit is required.. We’re also happy to work with families to create a payment plan for any non-covered services. Just ask us!
Newborn Insurance Reminder
Congratulations on the wonderful new addition to your family!
New parents don’t always know, or they may forget during the busy, crazy, wonderful days that follow the birth of a child, that babies are not automatically covered on all insurance plans. So here’s some important information you’ll need to remember:
Not all insurance policies offer automatic coverage for new babies. However, some plans do offer 30- or 31-day coverage until you can physically add the baby to your plan.
Making Sure Your Baby is Covered
We recommend that you check with your HR department or member services to see how your individual health plan works, and to begin the process of adding your baby to the insurance.
If the newborn coverage period has ended, and the newborn is not showing active on an insurance policy, the baby’s parents will be responsible to pay out of pocket for the visit. This may also lead to a lapse in coverage for your child.
If your child has been added to an HMO, it’s imperative that you have Dr. Mehrotra listed as the PCP.
If you have any questions or concerns, just give us a call at 559-325-2400
