Please read the following information regarding Northern Neurosurgery and Spine’s billing and collection procedures and payment expectations. Note that when we use the term “you,” “your,” or similar terms in this document, we are referring to the patient and/or the person who is responsible for paying for the patient’s health care, as applicable. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact our business office staff at 701-356-7444 or [email protected].
Billing & Collection Policy
A. Insurance
If you are covered by insurance an insurance plan that we accept, we will bill your insurance plan for the health care services we provide to you based on the insurance information that you provide to us. We accept many insurance plans, but we cannot guarantee that your insurance plan will cover our services. You are responsible for verifying the coverage of your insurance plan and complying with any coverage-related requirements. We will check your insurance eligibility and demographics. If requested, you must present your insurance card and identification information at check-in. If you do not have insurance coverage, we will discuss payment options with you.
B. Referrals
If your insurance plan requires a referral for you to receive our health care services, you must get the required referral before you are seen at our facility. Failure to get a required referral could reduce your insurance benefit or leave you responsible for the total charges.
C. Co-Payments, Deductibles, and Other Amounts Not Covered by Insurance.
You are responsible for any amounts not paid by insurance. This includes co-payments, deductibles, non-covered services, and any other amounts not covered by insurance. Co-payments are due at the time of your visit.
D. Statements and Payment Terms
We send billing statements to the patient or responsible person monthly following the initial correspondence we receive from your insurance company. After your insurance company has paid or identified its portion of the bill, the remaining balance is your responsibility and should be paid within thirty-days (30) of the statement date. If you are unable to pay the amount due by the due date, please contact our business office to set up an acceptable payment plan.
E. Billing Error Review
If you believe that your bill is not accurate, that a third party should pay the bill, or if you have other concerns about your bill, please contact our business office to discuss the matter. If you notify us of a billing error, or we otherwise determine that there is a billing error, we will review the bill and correct any billing errors found. While the review is being conducted, we will not bill you for the health treatment or services that are the subject of the review for potential billing errors. We may resume billing you for the health treatment and services that were reviewed for potential billing errors only after (a) the review is complete, (b) any billing errors are corrected, and (c) a notice of completed review (as detailed below) is transmitted to you. If, after completing the review and correcting any billing errors, we determine you overpaid us under the bill, we will refund the amount overpaid under the bill within 30 days after completing the review.
F. Required Error Review Notices
Within 30 days of our determining or receiving notice that your bill may contain one or more billing errors, we will notify you (1) of the potential billing error; (2) that we will review the bill and correct any billing errors found; and (3) that while the review is being conducted, we will not bill you for any health treatment or service subject to review for potential billing errors. Within 30 days after we complete this review, we will (1) notify you that the review is complete, (2) explain in detail (a) how any identified billing errors were corrected, or (b) if applicable, why we did not modify the bill as requested, and (3) include applicable coding guidelines, references to health records, and other relevant information.
G. Medical Debt Owed and Collection
We will send you statements identifying your remaining balance from time to time. If you are having difficulty paying your balance, we encourage you to contact our business office about your account. Our business office staff will help you with questions and concerns, and work with you on a payment plan and other reasonable options to help you pay your balance.
H. Referral to a Collection Agency or Law Firm
We may use a collection agency or law firm in certain cases where the terms of a payment arrangement or terms of our billing and collection policy have not been met. If you have not paid the balance due within 120 days of the applicable statement date and have not made acceptable payment arrangements with our business office, or have not complied with agreed upon payment arrangements, we may refer your account to a collection agency or law firm. Your medical debt will not be reported by us to a consumer reporting agency or credit bureau.
J. Outstanding Debt
We will not deny medically necessary health treatment or services to you or any member of your family or household because of current or previous outstanding medical debt owed by you or any member of your family or household to us, regardless of whether the health treatment or service may be available from another health care provider. As a condition of providing medically necessary health treatment or services when you or any member of your family or household has current or previous outstanding medical debt to us, we may require you to enroll in a payment plan for the outstanding medical debt owed to us. The payment plan will take into account any information you disclose to us regarding your ability to pay. If you are unable to make all or part of the agreed-upon installment payments under any such payment plan, you must communicate your situation us and you must pay an amount you can afford. We may seek other legally permitted remedies in the event of your failure to abide by the payment plan terms.
K. Legal Requirements
When collecting medical debt, we will comply with all applicable requirements of law (which may include the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, HIPAA, and Minnesota state privacy laws.)
L. Contact
If you have any questions about this policy or our billing and collection process, please contact our business office staff at 701-356-7444 or [email protected]
