FAQ

For your convenience, we have a pre-arrival program that will help make your visit to Singing River Health System go smoother. During this pre-registration process we will ask a series of questions which will include insurance information to help your bills get processed quickly and accurately. This information will be kept strictly confidential. It will also allow us to give you an estimated cost for services that your insurance does not cover.

On the day of your admission, be sure to bring your insurance card or a copy of the front and back of the card with you that day. The information you will be asked to provide includes: physician name, your name, sex, maiden name or other married names admitted under previously; address, phone, employer, name of relative or other contact; and insurance information.

Based on your insurance coverage and the services provided, an authorization or referral form from your insurance carrier may be required. It is important that you are familiar with your benefits and the extent of your medical coverage. We suggest that you contact your insurance carrier before scheduling a procedure.

Out-of-network refers to a patient seeking care outside the network of doctors, hospitals or other healthcare providers that the insurance company has contracted to provide care. It usually applies to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs).

Though address and telephone numbers remain constant for approximately 70% of us, verifying this information is essential in our billing and collection processes.

Demographic information is considered valid for a certain period of time. Despite verifying the information, we still receive some mail each week with invalid addresses.

Insurance coverage changes more frequently than addresses. Your card provides the pre-authorized telephone numbers, claims address and group numbers that are essential for us to process your insurance claim.

As an industry standard, insurance information is considered accurate only at the time of service, thus the need for revalidation each time you are seen.

Information contained on your Medicare card defines the correct billing expectation Medicare requires. While 99% of the time this does not change, our revalidation process requires that we renew the information in our system.

Medicare is a “last payer insurance.” Federal law mandates that all Medicare providers verify at each visit that you or your spouse does not have an Employer Group Health Plan that would be primary over Medicare.

When audited, we have to show proof that for each time you received services, you were asked specific questions relating to the possibility of other insurance.

Additionally, if you are in an accident and someone else is at fault, the other party is responsible for your medical expenses according to federal law.

Similar to a pharmacy filling a prescription, a physician’s order must be on file requesting a diagnostic test before we can perform a service. If we do not have record of the order and it is not presented at the time of service, we must call the physician’s office and request the order be faxed. The results are then directed to the ordering physician who will confer with you regarding the results.

All insurance companies require a valid diagnosis to enable them to determine the benefits due. It is the physician’s responsibility to provide the hospital with a diagnosis. If you have questions concerning the diagnosis, you should contact you physician directly.

Contact the physician’s office and request submittal of a diagnosis change order to Singing River Health System Coding Department by faxing it to (228) 809-2279.

The ABN is a notice given to Medicare beneficiaries to keep patients informed that Medicare is unfortunately not likely to pay for various services.

Per Medicare requirements, the provider must give the ABN to the patient before services are performed. The ABN will list the service, explain why Medicare might not pay, and inform you that you will be fully and personally responsible in the event that Medicare does not pay.

After being informed that Medicare would not cover a test, if you choose to go ahead and have the service performed, you are accepting responsibility for payment of the service. If an order does not support the medical necessity at the time of the test, it will not be supported after the test.

For more information from Medicare on the ABN visit Medicare Advance Beneficiary Notice.

This is an amount established by your insurance company as the patient’s responsibility of billed fees. Co-pays, deposits and other co-insurance amounts are due at the time the services are provided. Depending on your insurance, you may be responsible for paying the entire charge and any charges for services not covered by your insurance. For a list of services that are not covered, please contact your insurance company.

Co-payments are due at the time of service. If you are unsure of your co-pay responsibility, please consult your health insurance policy. Knowing your insurance policy is vital to receiving the maximum possible benefits. Failure to meet your insurance requirements can result in claim denial or a higher co-payment and/or deductible.

Singing River Health System accepts personal checks and most major credit cards, including Master Card, Visa, American Express and Discover. When mailing in a payment, complete the information that is required on the remittance stub located at the bottom of your statement.

You may also pay your bill online at singingriverhealthsystem.com. If you are unable to pay your entire balance at one time, you may request to set up a payment plan. For more information, please contact Customer Service at (228) 762-8876 or 1-800-552-3916.

The hospital has a banking service which directs all payments made by our patients/customers to a special post office box called a lock box. This is similar to credit card payment debt where the bank retrieves, processes and deposits the funds on the same day to our local bank at a lower fee than what it would cost to process in-house.

Singing River Health System has ways to help our patients. If you need help, please call the hospital financial services office. Below are some of the ways we can help.

Hospital Financial Assistance

Singing River Health System provides free or reduced price care to Mississippi gulf coast residents, if you qualify based on your income. Financial assistance can help with hospital bills for inpatient or outpatient care. Our staff will help you find out if you qualify for financial assistance and help is offered to people with and without insurance.

Insurance Programs

Our staff can help you apply for public insurance programs such as Medicaid. This program may help you with your current bill and will help you pay for health needs in the future.

Payment Plans

If you need to pay your bill over time, our staff can help you set up an appropriate payment plan.

Yes, we extend a 60 percent discount to patients who are uninsured or to patients receiving services not covered by insurance. This discount applies up to 30 days past your date of service.

As a service to our patients, we provide price estimates for many of the most commonly requested medical services and diagnostic tests performed at the hospital and its affiliates.

While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our price estimates, the costs associated with medical care and diagnostic testing can vary substantially, depending on each individual’s medical needs and circumstances.

We cannot determine in advance the exact total cost of a procedure because we cannot anticipate all of the charges that may be incurred in the course of treatment.

As a result, the final bill may be greater than or less than the estimate provided. Singing River Health System makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy of the pricing estimates and shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies.

The estimates provided include only charges related to your hospital bill. Your physician and other physicians providing services related to your services will bill you separately.

These physicians may include anesthesiologists, radiologists, pathologists and other specialists. Independent lab and radiology services – that is, ones not directly associated with Singing River Health System, but which may be used by your physician or other physicians who provide care to you – may also bill you separately.

If you have questions about those bills, please call the telephone numbers on their statements for assistance. The portion of your bill that is your responsibility is commonly referred to as your “out-of-pocket” expense. Out-of-pocket expenses are different for every patient and depend on individual insurance policies.

The answer is complex. As with any business, hospitals must attempt to cover their expenses by charging for their services. But with hospitals, the cost of providing services includes many necessary and costly items that do not readily come to mind when most of us think about our care.

We take it for granted that the hospital is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Likewise, we have come to expect that hospitals will have all of the latest technology that could possibly be needed for our care. And we expect that the people caring for us are highly trained, highly skilled professionals.

Finally, although we seldom think about it, the cost to collect from insurance companies, the under-insured, uninsured and indigent population increased demand of consumption of healthcare services contribute to the cost.

We, at Singing River Health System, regularly review our costs and pricing structure because we believe we must be a leader in getting healthcare costs under control, not only to support our customers’ needs but also to improve upon the existing system of healthcare financing and delivery of care.

As a courtesy to our patients, when you receive services at Singing River Health System, we bill your insurance carrier directly.

In order to be sure the claim is properly submitted, we need a copy of your insurance card. HIPPA regulations require that we supply insurance providers complete information on the person that carries the coverage. This includes the name, address, phone number, date of birth and social security number. Incomplete information could mean a denial from your insurance provider.

When your insurance provider delays, denies or makes partial payment, you are responsible for the balance. Any additional patient financial responsibility is due when you receive your statement. You may receive more than one statement for services rendered at Singing River Health System. These statements may be from a physician, or an ambulance service.

If you receive a hospital statement and do not understand the content, or if you believe that the information may be incorrect, please call our Customer Service Department at (228) 762-8876 or 1-800-552-3916.

Insurance claims are billed by Singing River Health System on a daily basis and typically processed by insurance carriers with 30-60 days.

After the insurance carrier processes the claim, a statement for any patient/guarantor responsibility will be billed to you. If your insurance carrier requires additional information or denies the initial claim, an appeal process may delay your billing.

As a courtesy to you, Singing River Health System bills your insurance carrier directly for services rendered. The charges become your responsibility if your insurance carrier does not make payment. It is important that you provide accurate insurance information at the time of your appointment.

Hospitals often consult with specialized doctors as part of caring for patients. Often these specialists are sent items such as lab tests or X-rays for their expert review.

If you had a non-work related accident, we will ask you for information about other insurance, like car insurance. If your accident or illness is work-related, we will bill your employer’s workers’ compensation program. It is important that you fill out the necessary paperwork, or you could be responsible for the balance.

Due to the HIPPA Privacy Act, we are only allowed to discuss account information with the patient or guarantor.

Any payment made by your insurance carrier will be reflected on your statement. In addition, your insurance carrier will send an explanation of benefits (EOB) that details how your medical claim was processed and paid.

If your claim is denied, you should contact your insurance carrier directly for an explanation about how your claim was processed.

Singing River Health System will process and send a bill to a patient after payment is received from the insurance carrier and it is confirmed that the balance is owed by the patient. The length of this process depends on how long it takes to receive a response from your insurance carrier.

A new account is created for each date of service and the bill may be for a different date of service. Also, your payment may not have posted to your account before the next statement was generated and mailed.

To determine if there is a balance, contact Customer Service toll-free at (228) 762-8876 or 1-800-552-3916.

Please verify that your insurance carrier has received and processed the claim. If the claim has not been processed, then carefully review your insurance policy or contact your insurance carrier to determine if the services and procedures are covered.

Your insurance carrier will have the most accurate and up-to-date information about your policy and your claim. If your insurance company has questions, please direct them to contact Customer Service to verify that the most up-to-date insurance information is on file.

To ensure prompt payment of your claim, please ensure we have your most up-to-date insurance information. Always take your insurance card with you to your appointments and make sure your health care providers have your current insurance information.

If your insurance information has changed, you may call us or complete the change of information form located on the back of your statement and mail back to us.

Singing River Health System has designated certain clinics as a hospital-based clinic. A hospital-based clinic is a facility similar to a physician’s office. The clinic provides diagnostic, preventive, curative and rehabilitation services. The services are provided by an employed physician; however, the clinic is owned and operated by the hospital.

Some insurance companies view this type of service as an outpatient clinic visit. You may incur a facility charge that may be assigned as a patient’s co-payment responsibility. This kind of charge may not typically be incurred if the clinic were not considered hospital-based.