Financial Policy Effective November, 2002 our office has instituted a $25 fee for missed appointments. This has been made necessary by increasing numbers of people not keeping their appointments, which is very frustrating when we are so busy and there are so many other people who want to be seen sooner.
This fee is not covered by your insurance and will apply if you fail to notify us of a cancellation at least 2 hours in advance of your appointment time (or, for appointments in the first two business hours of a day, prior to our closing the day before). If you need to cancel an appointment please call as soon as you know during business hours. Please do not call after hours, and do not leave messages for or page our on-call providers for this purpose. On-call providers can NOT inform administrative staff of changed appointments.
Should a true emergency arise that causes a missed appointment, please contact Gail as soon as possible to discuss the fee. Parents are responsible for all office charges, and payment is expected at the time of service. All insurance copayments are due at the time of the visit. A 10% discount is available for payment in full at the time of the visit by cash, check, or credit card. Unpaid balances are billed monthly, and accrue interest if not paid within 30 days. For your convenience we accept Master card, Visa and American Express cards and are happy to bill most insurance carriers directly.
In cases in which a contractual relationship exists between our office and your plan, you are asked to pay any co-payment or co-insurance at the time of the visit. If your Plan requires, you must contact them PRIOR to a first appointment to name us as your Primary Care Doctor, or to obtain a referral. Parents are ultimately responsible for any charges or portion thereof for which payment is denied by insurance for whatever reason, except where prohibited by law or prior contractual agreement. Our participation in various insurance plans, HMO’s, nd PPO’s is subject to change – usually based upon the plan’s own willingness to accept Children’s Hospital as our primary affiliation. In general we have always tried to “sign up” with as many plans as possible in order to maximize choices to our patients. We currently accept: HMO Blue Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Mass. (managed care and major medical plans) Blue Cross/Blue Shield from other states participating in the “Blue card Program” Mass Health / Medicaid / Network Health – You MUST choose our office as “PCC”, we DO NOT ACCEPT NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH PLAN.
Tufts Affiliated Health Plan (HMO & POS) Harvard/Pilgrim (but NOT HCHP) Fallon United Healthcare of New England (Formerly Travelers, MetLife, Metra health, United Plan) Private Health Care System Health Care Value Management Unicare (formerly Costcare and John Hancock Preferred) Children’s Medical Security Plan* We will submit for most other private insurance plans. Unfortunately, although we have accepted them in the past, as of 3/99 we will no longer be a provider for AETNA USHEALTHCARE HMO. Therefore, effective now we are not accepting new patients under that plan.
We also CANNOT accept Harvard Community Health Plan, Neighborhood Health Plan, Matthew Thorton, Lahey Clinic or any other “center-based” plan, nor do we accept US Healthcare, or Healthsource New Hampshire. *Children’s Medical Security Plan ensures that no child residing in the state of Massachusetts should be without health insurance. Income limits are very liberal, and CMSP will even cover unpaid medical claims from a primary insurance company with high deductibles and no well child coverage! Call our office or 800-909-2677. Unpaid balances are billed monthly.
We use computer billing and are aware that sometimes errors do occur. Please call if you have a question about your bill. Most problems can be settled quickly and easily, and your call will prevent any misunderstandings. If you are having trouble paying your bill or are unable to pay on the day your child needs to be seen, please explain the situation to us. Satisfactory arrangements can almost always be made. We strive to remain flexible and understandings of individual circumstances, are certain to have suggestions, and will do our best to help.
Financial considerations should never prevent a child from receiving the care they need at the time they need it. The goal of this practice is to provide the very highest quality medical care for infants, children, and teenagers. We try to combine the best of the old and the new – a small, friendly, personal office setting with the very latest advances modern pediatric medicine has to offer. References: http://www. chmed. com/mod. php? mod=userpage&menu=1613&pate_id=68 http://www. genesismedical. org/financial_policy. asp http://mdapa. com/dinancial. pdf
The medical setting is for children who suffer from obesity. The program that is in North Shore Elementary is for children who don’t eat well balance meals at home. Baptist Medical Center is catered around children of all ages, who suffer from being obese. The program is design to have nutrients in the foods that is in the school. Physical education is apart of this program to help children not to sit and not exercise. Children are not merely “small adults”. In many important biological and psychological ways children are different. This impacts, on the very fundamentals of care.
Pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists devote their entire training and careers to the study and care of children. They have extensive knowledge of childhood disease and well honed sensitivity to a child’s psychology. Because of this, they are uniquely qualified to deliver medical care to this age group. No other kind of physician can match the quality of care they will provide. The same is true of pediatric hospitals and other institutions dedicated solely to children. It is therefore our policy to admit only to pediatric institutions and refer to only the best and most up to date pediatric subspecialists.
At Children’s Medical Office we believe all children are created equal, that children are mankind’s greatest asset and our only hope for the future. We therefore do not discriminate among children on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, language, national origin, political alignment, socioeconomic status, or diagnosis. We take pride in catering to special needs – be they medical, social, emotional, or educational. We particularly specialize in caring for chronically ill, handicapped, and developmentally delayed children, or for those with multiple medical problems, in addition to providing “well child” care.
We reject the concept of “generalism”! We are not “jacks-of-all-trades” for child health; but rather highly trained specialists in pediatric preventive medicine, primary care delivery, and the overall case management of both acute and chronic illness in childhood. When a problem arises which is beyond our areas of expertise, we don’t hesitate to refer to the best subspecialists available in that field.
References:
- http://www. chmed. com/mod. php? mod=userpage&menu=1613&_id=68 http://www. genesismedical. org/financial_policy. asp http://mdapa. comfinancial. pdf
