Policies
FINANCIAL POLICY
The physicians and staff of Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter (MMC) are pleased to welcome you to our facility. We hope that your visit will be a pleasant one. In the 60+ years our clinic has been providing health care services to the patients of Rutherford County and surrounding areas, the business of providing health care has changed tremendously. MMC firmly believes that a good physician/patient relationship is based upon good understanding and communication. These financial policies have been developed in an effort to remove any misunderstanding that may arise regarding a patient's account. These policies are also designed in an effort to enable us to continue providing quality, state-of-the-art patient care in a cost effective manner. If you have any questions or do not understand any of these policies, please feel free to ask one of our Patient Accounting Representatives or one of our Office Managers.
REGISTRATION
Upon your initial visit to MMC, a Patient Accounting Representative will collect your billing information, as well as other information, during the registration process. This information will include address, telephone number, social security number, birth date, insurance information, employer information, emergency contact information, and other similar information. It is extremely important that this information is kept up to-date. Accordingly, at each subsequent visit, the receptionist will verify most of this information when you arrive for your appointment. In the event that any of the information has changed, you will be asked to visit Patient Accounting before you see the physician. At this time, a Patient Accounting Representative will make the necessary changes for you as well as any other affected family member.
PAYMENT FOR SERVICES
Payment for services provided to you is ultimately your responsibility. For your convenience, we accept cash, personal checks, Visa, MasterCard, AmEX, and Discover. In addition, if you have health insurance, we will gladly file a claim with your health insurance company.
HEALTH INSURANCE - Click for More Information
If you will be using health insurance to settle your account, you will be asked to present your current insurance card at each visit. If your insurance has a co-payment, we will collect that amount at each visit.We will file an initial claim based upon the information that you have provided to us. Under state law, your insurance company has 30 days in which to process and pay the claim, request more information, or deny the claim and notify us of the decision. If they have not notified us within 90 days of the date of service, it will be assumed that your insurance coverage is no longer in force and the unpaid balance will be your responsibility.
SELF-PAY PLAN
If you are self-pay, you will be expected to pay the day's charges on the day of the service. There may be additional charges for tests and other services rendered subsequent to your visit. You will be billed for these items. If you are having a surgery, you will be expected to make mutually agreeable payment arrangements prior1o receiving the service. If the service is considered elective, payment must be made in full prior to the services being performed.
AUTO INSURANCE/LEGAL CLAIMS
If you are seeing a physician as a result of an auto accident or other injury related to a legal claim against a third party, you will be considered self-pay. We will not file a claim with your auto insurance company or await a court settlement to be resolved.
WORKERS COMPENSATION CLAIMS
Several of our physicians provide services under workers compensation plans. If you need to see a physician for an injury related to your employment, please have your employer or workers compensation case manager make the appointment for you. You will need to provide us with the case number as well as the address to which the bill is to be sent.
BILLING STATEMENTS
We have designed our billing statements to reflect the individual charges billed, the payments and adjustments related to those charges, and the balance due. These statements will also reflect an amount due from you, as well as a balance due from your insurance company. Patients with a personal balance will receive a monthly statement showing the specific amounts due. These statements are due upon receipt. Because the posting of payments can sometimes be posted days following the day of payment, you may receive a statement that does not reflect a payment that was made on the day of service or sent by your insurance company. If you receive subsequent statements, which do not reflect the payment, please contact a Patient Accounting Representative to investigate.
PAYMENT PLANS
We do permit payment plans to be arranged for amounts due of over a hundred dollars. The minimum payment amount is $50.00 per month and will be automatically deducted from a credit or debit card kept on file.
CREDIT BALANCES
Payments that result in an overpayment on an account will be refunded after all charges pending insurance have been processed and after applying credits to satisfy balances for immediate family members and any other accounts where the same guarantor is listed.
PAST DUE ACCOUNTS
Past-due accounts cost both time and money; therefore, patients with delinquent accounts will be required to make payment at the time of service. If you are unable to make mutually agreeable payment arrangements, we will be glad to reschedule your apointment. Interest will be charged at an annual rate of 18% on all past due patient balances.
PAST DUE 90+
Those accounts older than 90 days or those failing to honor agreed-upon payment terms will be sent to a collection agency. If your account is sent to a collection agency, you must pay all past due amounts or make agreeable payment terms before subsequent appointments can be scheduled. Additionally, patients can be dismissed from our practice for financial matters and will have to seek their health care elsewhere.
BILLING QUESTIONS
Questions or concerns regarding your account or insurance claim should be directed to our Patient Accounting Department. These highly trained experts in insurance billing have been instructed to make every effort to clarify any misunderstanding or confusion you may have regarding your account. Please notify us immediately if you feel an error appears on your statement or if you have any questions or concerns.
CONTACT PATIENT ACCOUNTING - (615) 867-7916
UNCANCELED APPOINTMENTS
Please give at least 24 hours notice (one business day) if you will not be able to keep your appointment. In the event that you do not provide an appropriate notice, a fee will be accrued on your account.