About Our Pricing Commitment
We know today, especially when so many are uninsured or underinsured, it is important for you to have healthcare pricing information. We are committed to making this information available so you can better anticipate and understand financial responsibilities to make informed healthcare decisions.
Because we know that healthcare is complex and that a general listing of prices for our common procedures will not meet everyone's needs, we have established a team you can contact directly through our toll-free number 800-370-1983 for a prospective service quote. Our goal is to make this important information easy to access and personal to you. We believe this is one more way we are leading the way in better patient service.
"Pricing transparency" is the term used to describe initiatives in the healthcare industry designed to provide meaningful pricing information to consumers. The healthcare industry is often complex and difficult for patients to navigate. Our hospital is committed to presenting pricing estimates for common services through this website in an accessible manner to promote better understanding, while also providing useful information about financial assistance available, definitions of key terminology, and key financial policies.
You can obtain an estimate online using our Patient Payment Estimator online tool, which will ask you for a few pieces of important information, such as if you have health insurance and the services you are considering, in order to produce an estimate just for you. If you prefer to speak with someone to obtain an estimate, please call us at 800-370-1983 to speak with one of our specialists who will be happy to assist.
If you are viewing estimates provided on this website, the pricing includes estimated room and board (for inpatients), supplies, nursing care, equipment use, medications administered during your service, nutritional services, and any services handled by the staff of the hospital within the walls of the hospital. It does not include services listed in the following FAQ.
Your personal physician or other physicians providing you with services related to your hospital stay or visit will bill you separately. This can include fees related to specialists, anesthesiologists, pathologists and radiologists.
Independent laboratory and radiology services will also bill you separately for reading and interpreting EKGs, X-rays, EEGs and lab work.
It means a patient does not have insurance coverage for hospital services by a third party like Medicare, Medicaid, Workers Compensation or another insurance company. Other common terms used when referring to uninsured patients are self pay and private pay.
It is a good idea to contact your physician's office to get the best description possible of the services that you need. Then, if you have insurance, contact your insurance company and make sure that the services required are covered services under your specific plan. If they are not covered, then you would be considered uninsured for these services.
Please try to have the following information on hand so that you can obtain the best estimate:
- Description of services needed - We will need to know as much information as possible about the specific services needed as described by your physician.
- Type of services needed - We need to know if you will be admitted to the hospital as an inpatient overnight, or if you are expected to be treated on an outpatient basis.
- Physician/Specialist Name - For example, if you are having surgery, we will want to know the surgeon's name.
- If you have insurance, we will also need:
- Your insurance card - Please have your card available so that if needed, you can provide the following information: name of insurance company, type of policy (e.g. HMO, PPO, POS, Indemnity), policy holder's name, group name and number, policy number, insurance company phone number.
- Policy holder's personal information - It is possible that the insurance company will want us to verify the Social Security Number and date of birth of the person who is named as the primary insurance policy holder.
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide an exact pricing quote pre-service. We will do our best to provide you with a pricing range based on our hospital's historical pricing for comparable services. Price quotes are not guaranteed since the services used to compute the quote can vary from services you actually receive due to treatment decisions, unforeseen complications, additional tests or services ordered by your physician and variation in the clinical needs of each patient.
Similar to your visits to your physician's office, we request payment at time of service. If you have insurance or other coverage, you will be asked to pay your copayment, coinsurance and/or deductible upon arrival at the hospital, or in advance when you are pre-registered to make the process smoother for you on the day of service. After your insurance company pays us, we will send you information about any amount you may still owe.
If you are uninsured, we request payment at time of service (or will work with you to arrange monthly payments) for the estimated price of your services. If, after your services are received, any additional payment is due, we will send you information about any amount you may still owe. If you receive emergency care and cannot pay for your services, with your cooperation, our financial counselors will evaluate whether you qualify for local and state programs, including county assistance and Medicaid, or our Financial Assistance Policy.
We accept major credit cards, checks, money orders and cash.
We provide free hospital care for patients that have received non-elective care, who do not meet qualifications for Medicaid, and whose income is less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (in most cases). In order to qualify for this free care, you must complete a Financial Assistance Application and provide some documents to support your income. For patients with balances greater than $1,500, and whose documented income is in-between 201 and 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, we have an expanded Financial Assistance Policy that may reduce the amount you owe. Our full Financial Assistance Policy is outlined here. For patients who do not meet the charity criteria and will be expected to pay for services out of pocket, we offer a discount similar to managed care. All uninsured patients (excluding those receiving cosmetic procedures and certain "package" procedures) will be given an uninsured discount.
If you are insured, a claim will be sent to your insurance company. After they receive the claim, the insurance company may contact you for additional information. Please respond to your insurance company's questions as quickly as possible so their payment is not delayed. It usually takes 30-45 days for your insurance company to pay your claim. After they pay us, we will provide you with information about any amount you may owe that you did not already pay. Please keep in mind that your policy is a binding agreement between you and your insurance company. If you did not follow your insurance plan's terms, they may not pay for all or part of your care.
Because it is our goal to provide patients with useful information, we feel it is our responsibility to share more with you about some of the complications involved in determining patient financial responsibility. Providing you with an estimate of your potential costs is an imperfect process and although we would like to guarantee our pricing estimates, it would be inappropriate to do so as there are many reasons the patient payment may be more or less than what we initially estimate. All estimates are based on information provided to us by a prospective patient. We cannot predict or estimate for changes in treatment decisions, unforeseen complications, and additional tests or procedures ordered by a physician, among other variables. If you have a question please call our customer representatives at 800-370-1983.