FINANCIAL POLICY

Patient Billing Practices

Payments for medical services provided by Alaska Bariatric Center is due at the time of service. We accept cash, most credit cards, personal checks, and money orders. Payment in full at the time of service is required when:

You do not have insurance coverage.
You have not brought your insurance card(s) with you.
You have not met your deductible.
A referral or prior authorization was no obtained.
Any procedures or treatments we believe are not covered by insurance.

Patient Responsibility:

Insurance coverage is not a guarantee of payment.
We will bill your insurance company as a courtesy, if you present your insurance card(s) at the time of your appointment.
Any co-payments or “patient responsibility” must be paid at the time of service.
Any remaining balance, after all applicable insurance payments have been applied, is due upon receipt of billing statement.
Prior to receiving a surgery date, your account balance must be paid in full.
If payment in full is not received within 90 days from the date of the first statement, your account may be turned over to cornerstone credit services.
Cancelled appointments require 24 hours’ notice; otherwise they will be subject to a $25 charge.
If we do not receive response from your insurance company within 45 days from the date we bill them, then the balance will become patient responsibility.

We also recommend that you research your insurance benefits prior to your office visit, as there could be reasons why your insurance may not pay for your visit. These reasons may include, but are not limited to:

Your deductible has not been met.
You have not received the proper referral or preauthorization for the visit or procedure.
The services or procedures are not covered by your insurance company. We will inform you when we know a treatment/procedure will not be covered. Some insurance policies have exclusions for bariatric surgery. If there is any uncertainty about coverage, we would be happy to provide you with an estimate of your fees prior to treatment. You are responsible for all non-covered services at the time of your visit.

We may choose to use an independent laboratory. If so, this lab will bill separately for these services. We will provide your insurance information to the lab so that they may file a claim with your carrier. The lab will then bill you for any remaining balance. You will need to contact them directly for any questions regarding their bill. This also applies to any other testing we may order for you that is performed by another provider.

Exclusions:

Some insurance companies specifically excludes weight loss surgery or treatment for obesity-related services. Unfortunately at this time, we are unable to bill insurance companies that state these exclusions. Patients that have this type of coverage will need to pay their bill in full prior to surgery.

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