Insurance Questions

• What's the best way for me to pay my hospital bills?
• Who is responsible for paying my bill?
• What other bill(s) will I receive?
• What should I do if I owe on my hospital account?
• How does the hospital process my insurance?
• Where can I go to talk to someone in person or pay my bill?
• What if I believe my bill is wrong?

What's the best way for me to pay my hospital bills? 

When making medical payment decisions, make sure you know:

• the total costs
• what your insurance will cover
• what you will have to pay out-of-pocket
• what method of payment the hospital accepts
• if you or your hospital physician's office staff will be completing insurance forms

*** Click here to learn about our FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICY

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Who is responsible for paying my bill? 

The hospital will bill your insurance company directly (unless you specify otherwise), you are ultimately responsible for making certain that your bill is paid. 

If a balance remains after your insurance has issued a payment or a denial, payment is due immediately upon receipt of your statement.

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What other bill(s) will I receive? 

In addition to your bill from the hospital, you may receive bills from other physicians who may have provided services to you. For instance, you may receive bills from consulting physicians, pathologist, anesthesiologists, radiologists, or other specialists. Please contact their office directly if you have questions concerning their bills.

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What should I do if I owe on my hospital account?

Please pay the Amount Due, or contact us if you cannot pay in full right away. If you have received a statement for an unpaid account, you should pay the entire amount—or contact us right away at our Customer Service Department to discuss available payment alternatives. There are several different ways that you can pay.

If you do not pay the amount due on your hospital bill and if you make no effort to contact us, we will get in touch with you to recommend payment alternatives or ask you to take action to pay your bill. If you still make no effort to pay your bill or make arrangements for a payment plan, we may then take more serious action, such as sending your account to an outside collection agency, which may adversely affect your credit rating, or seeking legal action.

If you cannot pay all that you owe now, there's still something you can do…

If you cannot pay all of your hospital bill now, we recommend you pay as much as you can. By paying now, you reduce the amount of late payment penalties you will owe. Then, immediately call, write, or visit Customer Service at the Patient Business Office to explain your situation.

After you explain your problem, we may ask you for financial information to help us compare your monthly income with your expenses and to determine the amount you can pay. We can then help you work out a payment option that is affordable for you. Based on your situation, we will work with you to consider several different ways to pay what you owe:

• You may be able to make monthly payments through one of our payment options,
• You may qualify for financial assistance through The Medical Center's Sliding Scale for Indigent Patients or, 
• You may qualify for third party coverage through a comprehensive review of potential payment sources.

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How does the hospital process my insurance?

The Medical Center is pleased to assist in filing your insurance claim. While your insurance is pending, we will not bill you on any amount expected to be due from your insurance. Since we may not have knowledge of your insurance plan's benefits or coverage, you, as the patient account guarantor, are ultimately responsible for any unpaid balances. Questions regarding non-payment of your claim or non-payment of any charges on your claim should be directed to your insurance carrier or Insurance Claims Administrator.

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Where can I go to talk to someone in person or pay my bill?

While visiting the hospital, your patient account payments and billing inquiries may be made in the Admitting and Patient Registration Office on the 1st floor near the main entrance. For your convenience, payments may also be made at most Medical Center registration locations such as Med Centers, Atrium Health Navicent Primary Care West Macon, a Facility of Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, Atrium Health Navicent Children's Care Downtown Macon, a Facility of Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center Center, Lab Services just to name a few.

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What if I believe my bill is wrong?

If you believe your bill is wrong, let us know as soon as possible. Call the number on your bill, write to the address on your the bill, e-mail via our Web-site, or visit the Customer Service Department at the Patient Business Office, if you prefer:

If you write to us, please include your name and Account Number from the front of your statement, the dollar amount of the suspected error, and tell us why you believe there to be an error on your bill.  With your letter, include copies of all the documents you gathered to explain your case. Please do not send original documents. We must hear from you no later than 60 days after the problem or error appeared on your account to preserve your rights. You can telephone us, but doing so will not preserve your rights.

You do not have to pay any amount in question while we are investigating, but you are still obligated to pay the parts of your bill that are not in question. While we investigate your questions, we cannot report you as delinquent or take any action to collect the amount in question. Late fees will be charged on any past due amount not in dispute. If we find you are correct, we will adjust your account and, if necessary, send you a corrected bill.

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If your address changes, please let us know as soon as possible.

In the event you move or change your mailing address, please notify us of your new address as soon as possible. Statements returned to us marked “undeliverable” by the Post Office may cause your account to be placed out for collection.

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