At Digestive and Liver Disease Consultants, we understand your
concern regarding health care and the financial arrangements for this medical care. Our commitment is to provide excellent
health care to our patients. The responsibility for payment of fees for these services is the direct obligation of the patient.
Our physicians are participating Medicare physicians and do accept assignment on Medicare claims; however, any deductible,
co-payment, or percentage not paid by Medicare or other carrier is your responsibility. It is also your responsibility to
know if your insurance has specific rules or regulations, such as the need for referrals from primary care physicians, pre-certification,
limits on outpatient charges, specific physicians and/or hospitals to use. You should be knowledgeable of any deductible,
co-pay and / or percentage for which you are responsible. The same responsibility exists for HMOs or PPOs in which our physicians
participate. Our receptionists and insurance specialtists will assist you with filing your insurance.
Our fees reflect
the time spent by the physician with you, the specialized-nature of the physician training, and the individual diagnostic
studies performed. Our fees are comparable to other similarly trained specialists in the community. We will discuss fees with
you at any time, and encourage you to inquire about a fee prior to receiving the service.
A facility fee is issued
by Mercy West Endoscopy/Mercy Medical Center/Iowa Lutheran Hospital to cover the expense of the sophisticated equipment
and nursing staff. This fee has been approved for coverage by Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and other
major insurance companies. Following your treatment at the Endoscopy Center, you will be mailed a separate facility fee statement.
This means you will receive two bills - one for physician's services, the other for facility usage. Facility outpatient services
are subject to deductible and co-insurance.
You will receive monthly statements. The first statement will show all
charges, with subsequent statements showing any insurance payments (it takes 4-6 weeks for most carriers to pay). You are
responsible for any unpaid balance. A 1.5% finance charge will be incurred on all balances 30 days and over including balances
with a financial arrangement.
NOTE: Some procedures that are performed in our office involve sending biopsy, cytology
or laboratory specimens to the hospital pathology department for tissue analysis. When this occurs you will receive separate
billings from both the hospital and/or the pathologist for their services.
Part of the increased cost of medical care
is caused by an extraordinary amount of insurance paperwork. In fact, more than one of every four dollars spent on health
care is needed to support administrative costs. In order to reduce these costs, which allows us to keep our charges as low
as possible, we ask that you be prepared to pay your co-pay for routine office visits when the service is rendered.
The fees for care during hospitalizations or for specialized procedures needs to be made in a timely manner. Please
let us know if you are having any particular financial problem - you will find us understanding and patient. A financial arrangement
can be reached by contacting our insurance staff. Extra insurance forms, letters to attorneys, etc., will necessitate
an extra fee because of the paperwork and time involved.
