Insurance and Billing

We feel that an important part of providing quality care for patients is a clear understanding of the financial policies that have been established to define this aspect of the relationship between the doctors and their patients.

Patients who are seen initially in the office have a chance to interact with the office staff and have their questions answered. Those who are first seen in the hospital or endoscopy suite do not have that opportunity. We hope that patients and their families can use this page to prevent misunderstanding or confusion about the billing and collection process.

Office Visits

We have made prior arrangements with Medicare, Medicaid, many insurance companies and medical plans to accept assignment of benefits. We will directly bill those plans for which we have contracts in place. The patient will be required to make contractual co-payments, deductibles or coinsurance. It is our office policy to collect all co-payments at the time of service. The patient is also responsible for bringing in referrals from the primary care physicians, as required by their insurance company. These referrals have the same function as a voucher and payment cannot be made without them. As with any other voucher, they are required in order to receive the services that they authorize.

Secondary insurance will be billed on an assigned basis. If the patient does not have a secondary insurance to be filed, then Utah Gastroenterology, P.C. will consider the remaining due as the patient’s responsibility and collect from the patient.

If the patient has insurance coverage with a plan with which we do not have a prior arrangement, we will prepare and send a claim form on an unassigned basis. All charges will be the responsibility of the patient.

In the event that the patient’s health plan deems the service to be a “non-covered” service, the patient will be responsible for the entire charge. Payment will be due upon receipt of a statement from our office.

Endoscopy Services and Hospital Care

When you register for the endoscopy service or are admitted to the hospital, billing and insurance information is recorded. Billing and subsequent statements are generated using this information. If you have included incomplete information at the time of registration or admission, please take the time to call and update that information.

Our policy is that the patient is ultimately responsible for the payment for their services. Although contractual arrangements may limit that responsibility in some manner, there is virtually always some element of patient responsibility. We will make every effort to make you aware of the referrals, co-payments, etc., but there is no satisfactory substitute for your own understanding of the policies and procedures of your insurance company or health care plan.

The Utah Gastroenterology, P.C. billing office will help in every way we can in filing insurance claims, receiving payments from the insurance company, and handling insurance questions from our office on behalf of the patient. We do accept VISA, Master Card, American Express and Discover Card for all types of payments. We offer the option to pay bills online. With our online bill pay option, you can securely make a payment for your service online with no hassles.

If the patient does not have insurance, we will ask the patient to pay the full amount at the time of service. When the amount is greater than $200 and the patient is unable to meet that obligation, a partial payment will be expected and a payment schedule will be set up if necessary at the time of service.

Monthly statements will be sent to all patients with an amount due. Accounts due over 60 days will be turned over to an outside collection agency for collection. No patient will be refused care due to his or her inability to pay. We will do all we can to make your experience with Utah Gastroenterology, P.C. as pleasant and worry-free as possible.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our billing office:

• Phone: (801) 944-3188
• Phone Hours: 8:00am – 4:00pm; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

The Cost of Your Procedure

Because you are responsible for costs for covered healthcare services until you reach your deductible, you should comparison shop if you elect to have a nonemergency procedure.

You can use tools like Healthcare Bluebook and the Medicare Procedure Price Lookup (for Medicare patients).  Many health insurance websites also provide information on where to find in-network services.