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About your Hospital Bill:
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Gibson Area Hospital is committed to providing quality health care and service to
all patients. In order to continue in this mission, it is essential that payment
be received for services provided.
As a courtesy to patients and their families, Gibson Area Hospital submits hospital
claims to any insurance company according to the information supplied by the patient.
To do this efficiently, it is important that the insurance card is presented at
the time of registration or admission.
An itemized bill for services rendered at Gibson Area Hospital will be sent upon
request of the patient/and or responsible party. Patients and/or the responsible
party (sometimes called the “guarantor”) will receive a statement for each open
account and any activity occurring since the last statement.
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Patient Responsibilities
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Prior Authorization
An increasing number of insurance carriers now require authorization prior to receiving
hospital services. Most of these plans require either the admitting physician or
the policy holder to initiate the prior authorization procedure.
If your insurance company has such a requirement, please inform your physician or
contact your insurance carrier. Failure to meet your insurance requirements may
result in partial or complete denial of insurance benefits.
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Payment Responsibilities
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An anticipated insurance payment does not replace the patient’s obligation to pay
any outstanding balance. In certain situations, if insurance payment is particularly
slow, Gibson Area Hospital reserves the right to make payment the direct responsibility
of the patient or responsible party.
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When a Patient Owes a Balance
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It is expected that all guarantors will make “good faith” efforts to pay any balance
due the hospital. Patient Financial Services will work with you to establish a reasonable
settlement of all the balances that are the guarantor’s responsibility. An account
is considered delinquent when:
•No payment arrangements have been made within 30 days of the final insurance
payment or final billing for self-pay accounts.
•There is no response to phone calls and/or letters.
All patients will receive one final notice and grace period of 10 working days to
forward any required payment. Disputed balances will be subject to review by Patient
Financial Services before further collection efforts are pursued. In those cases
where Patient Financial Services has exhausted all efforts to collect the balance
due Gibson Area Hospital, the account will be referred to a state licensed agency
for follow up and collection. The cost to collect the account will be added to the
original balance owed. Gibson Area Hospital has full-time personnel available to
assist the guarantor in establishing financial arrangements to meet the needs of
the patient and Gibson Area Hospital. To assist the guarantor in meeting his/her
obligations, Gibson Area Hospital provides the following programs:
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Gibson Cares Program:
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Gibson Area Hospital recognizes that there are occasions when a patient will not
be able to pay a medical bill. Since obtaining care at Gibson Area Hospital is not
dependant on one’s ability to pay, Gibson Area Hospital expects the patient to document
and qualify for charity or “free care”.
The patient and/or responsible party must provide the following information in order
for Gibson Area Hospital to determine the appropriate amount of charity care to
be applied to the patient’s account.
•Financial Assistance Application
•Proof of income for previous three months
•Copy of the latest federal income tax return
Consideration for charity is based on the patient’s and/or responsible party’s financial
status in comparison with the Federal Government’s Poverty Income Guidelines. To
obtain a Financial Assistance Application please contact Patient Account’s at 784-4251.
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