As a routine service, The Richland Hospital will bill Medicare and other insurance directly for our patients. Except for specific emergency room physician services, your physician service fees are billed separately by your physician’s office.  A radiologist billing service bills fees for radiologist interpretation of x-rays separately. Please make sure that we have correct insurance numbers on file, along with your signed authorization to release the information necessary for payment of your bill.

You should familiarize yourself with the terms of your insurance coverage. This will help you understand the billing charges and procedures as well as any prior authorization requirement. At the time of admission, a copy of both sides of your insurance cards will be made for our records.

If the insurance company has not paid the claim within 45 days from the date of discharge, a statement will be mailed to the responsible party asking that the insurance company be contacted – unless coverage is with Medicare or another governmental agency. Self-pay accounts or any balance remaining after insurance payments are due upon notification. Thereafter, statements showing the status of your account are mailed monthly. Accounts in this category left unpaid for a period of 90 days will be turned over to a collection agency.

 If you have questions about your insurance or about your hospital bill, we urge you to contact our insurance office staff between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you have no insurance, a representative from Patient Accounts will discuss financial arrangements with you prior to discharge from the hospital.