DID YOU KNOW?
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimates" estimating how much your health care will cost.
Under the Federal government’s “No Surprises Act”, in order to have more transparency
between health care providers and their patients, the provider should provide patients who:
an estimate of the amount that they will owe for services expected to be provided prior to the rendering of those services.
However, this requirement does NOT apply to people with government-issued health care coverage, such as Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid, VA, Tricare, etc.
Under the Federal government’s “No Surprises Act”, in order to have more transparency
between health care providers and their patients, the provider should provide patients who:
- have no health insurance coverage
- have health insurance coverage with which the provider does not have a contract (aka, provider is considered Out of Network)
- have health insurance coverage but do not wish to have a claim filed for services rendered to them
an estimate of the amount that they will owe for services expected to be provided prior to the rendering of those services.
However, this requirement does NOT apply to people with government-issued health care coverage, such as Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid, VA, Tricare, etc.
BASIC RULES SURROUNDING YOUR “GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE”
- If you fall under any of the 3 scenarios above, you will receive a written Good Faith Estimate upon scheduling an appointment with us. This will be delivered via our Patient Portal (the quickest way to get one), printed out and mailed via USPS, or emailed to you at your request. This applies to appointments scheduled at least 3 business days prior to the appointment date.
- If you fall under any of the 3 scenarios above, but your appointment is scheduled sooner than 3 business days in advance, make sure and ask for the Good Faith Estimate to be provided since it is not a requirement in that situation. Again, the quickest way to get
one would be via our Patient Portal, but we can mail or email them as well. - You can ask for a Good Faith Estimate prior to scheduling an appointment. This is done by utilizing the Contact Us form on our website: www.dermswla.com or by utilizing our Patient Portal and sending us a message. Just utilize the “Good Faith Estimate request” option when choosing to whom you would like your message sent.
- If your charges are $400 or more above what your Good Faith Estimate was for a particular date of service, you can dispute that bill. In this situation, please ask to speak with a member of our Billing staff or Administration. If you feel that the reason(s) for the difference is not acceptable, you, or your authorized representative, can initiate the Patient-Provider Dispute Resolution Process (PPDR).
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit
www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers, email FederalPPDRQuestions@cms.hhs.gov, or call 1-800-985-3059.
