Financial Policies
We are privileged to have you as a patient at our Care Centers, and if you are a new patient, please allow us to take this opportunity to welcome you.
Today there are hundreds of healthcare insurance companies, and each has dozens of plans. We participate with many of them and each plan has its own restrictions and its own rules and payment policies for physicians, both of which are constantly changing. In addition, employer and individual plans may vary depending upon the benefit package purchased, and whether the employer is ‘self-funded’ or ‘fully insured’, and there are variations between insured members that may even be on the same plan!
It’s complicated and so this guide has been written to help explain what you need to know about your insurance, as well as our financial policies that support effective and high quality health care for your child.
That said, we can only explain so much in a short guide. For information on your specific benefits – such as what is covered, what is not, and why – please refer to the benefits guide provided by your employer or plan at the time of enrollment, or call the member number usually located on the back of your insurance card, or log in online if your insurer has that option available.
We encourage you to obtain this information as a booklet from your Care Center to keep as a reference whenever you may need it.
Our goal is to provide nothing less than the highest quality medical care for your child.
We appreciate you taking the time to read this guide and familiarize yourself with important insurance matters that affect your family, and the policies we have in place at our practice. If you have any questions about the information contained here, please do not hesitate to contact our billing department.
Medicaid Plans
If you are a member of a Medicaid plan, certain of these policies do not apply to you. Please do not hesitate to ask our staff if you have any questions.
Non-Custodial Parent
Our policy is that the parent or guardian who brings the patient in for his/her care is financially responsible for the charges incurred at that visit. Divorce agreements and arrangements are strictly between the parents and we are unable to split bills or have two different financially responsible parties on the patient’s account.
About Weekends & After Hours
Additional charges for emergency visits, and visits on evenings, weekends, and holidays may be incurred.
Payment Policies
Below are details about services and fees that are not part of your plan benefits:
Copay Billing Fee
Often the cost of billing a copayment is equal to the amount of that copayment (once labor, materials and postage is factored in). Therefore, if we need to bill you for a copayment, we need to charge you $20.00 for that service. Please avoid these charges by making sure that you have your copayment amount on hand at the time of your visit.
Missed Appointment Fee
Life happens and we understand that sometimes you may need to reschedule a visit. All we ask is that you provide us with 24 hours notice, otherwise we will need to bill you a $50.00 ‘missed appointment’ fee.
Recurring Billing Fee
Similar to our copay billing fee, there is expense involved in sending monthly statements. Personal balances that remain unpaid for 30 days or more will be charged a $10.00 recurring billing fee per month for each month that the bill is outstanding. This fee is waived for patients on a recurring payment plan.
Record Release Fee
We charge a fee to cover costs associated with copying / printing records. Per New Jersey regulations, these fees cannot be greater than $1.00 per page or $100.00 for the entire record, whichever is less. If the record is less than 10 pages, we may charge $10. Please allow up to 30 days for us to prepare your records.
School, Camp and Athletic Forms
There are fees associated with form requests. Please see our separate handout on form requests and related fees, which can be obtained from the front desk at your Care Center.