FINANCIAL POLICY
INSURANCE
All of our financial and office policies can be found below
Health insurance is a contract between the patient and their insurance carrier. The insurance policy lists a package of medical benefits such as treatment services, tests, office visits and therapies. The insurance company agrees to cover the cost of certain benefits listed in your policy. These are your covered services.
NOTE: Your Naturopathic visit WILL NOT be considered a Wellness Visit, Periodic Check Up, or Annual Exam for insurance purposes. If you would like this type of examination performed, please let your provider know before the visit so they can complete the required examinations and document them for your insurance. In some cases you may need to be referred to another provider or specialist who can meet these requirements.
Your policy also lists the kinds of services that are not covered by your insurance company. These are your exclusions. You must pay for any uncovered medical care that you receive. Keep in mind that a medical necessity is not the same as a medical benefit. A medical necessity is something that your doctor has decided is necessary. A medical benefit is something that your insurance plan has agreed to cover. In some cases, your doctor might decide that you need medical care that is not covered by your insurance policy. Insurance companies determine what tests, therapies and services they will cover. Your insurance company’s choices may mean that the test, therapy or service you need isn’t covered by your policy.
By understanding your insurance coverage, you can help our providers recommend care that is covered in your plan. We will try to be familiar with your insurance coverage so we can provide you with covered care. However, there are so many different insurance plans that it’s not possible for our providers to know the specific details of each plan.
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Take the time to read your insurance policy. It’s better to know what your insurance company will pay for before you receive a service, get tested or fill a prescription. Some kinds of care may have to be approved by your insurance company before your doctor can provide them.
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If you still have questions about your coverage, call your insurance company and ask a representative to explain it. Please use this Insurance Verification form that has a comprehensive list of questions to ask the representative.
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Your insurance company, not our providers, makes decisions about what will be paid and what will not.
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Our providers, not your insurance company, makes medical decisions and recommendations about what will benefit your health.
Some services, tests or therapies recommended by your provider may not be covered by your insurance policy. When you have a test or treatment that isn’t covered, your insurance company won’t pay the bill. You can still obtain the treatment your doctor recommended, but you will have to pay for it yourself. Claims may not be resubmitted with different codes if they have been denied for lack of coverage.
Because insurance is a contract between the patient and the insurance carrier, we DO NOT check verify coverage. As a courtesy we will submit your claims directly to any Contracted Insurance Provider, provided the information we have obtained from you is accurate and complete, the patient assumes responsibility for all unpaid balances, co-payments, and deductibles due, as well as any non-covered service by the insurance company, including cost of collection. It is the patient’s responsibility to provide the most current insurance information to our office at the time services are rendered. A rebilling charge of $10.00 will be added if claims need to be resubmitted to the correct insurance company.
It is your responsibility to know the limits and exclusions to your insurance coverage.
PAYMENT: If we do not have a copy of your insurance information and proper ID at the time of the visit, you will be charged for the full visit at that time.
We accept cash, checks, Visa, Mastercard and Discover.
24 Hour Cancellation Notice
You will be charged for the full price of a visit for Cancellations or No Shows made less than 24 hours from your scheduled appointment.
New Patient - $350
Established Patient - $165
OFFICE POLICIES
CLIENT PARTICIPATION/RIGHTS
Treatment will only be effective if the client is engaged and actively involved; this includes family members of children and adolescents seeking treatment. I believe in working together toward treatment goals. It is important to ask questions about treatment if you are unclear about any aspect of treatment plans or goals.
EMERGENCIES
For after hour emergencies, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Emergent situations include serious medication reactions or risk of harm to oneself or someone else. In the event of a mental health crisis, you may also contact:
Washington County Crisis Line 503-291-9111
Multnomah County Crisis Line at 503-988- 4888
Clackamas County Crisis Line 503-655-8585
EMAIL/PATIENT PORTAL
As a courtesy we provide email communication with our clinic staff and providers through our HIPAA-compliant patient portal, which allows patients to send short emails a limited number of times between visits.
For non-urgent medically related questions, please limit email communication to clarifications of previously discussed issues. These should require a simple answer, such as "yes" or "no." Please allow up to 3 business days for a response. After 3 back and forth communications we do bill insurance for these communications and you will be responsible for any charges applied to your deductible or copays.
Please note, that many insurance providers do not allow these types of visits, and you will be billed at our non-insurance rates. Questions or requests that are related to administration, such as appointment scheduling or billing, should be directed to our staff. For more complex and/or urgent questions or requests, please call the clinic. Our staff will determine if your communication requires scheduling an appointment.
PHONE COMMUNICATION
We are available in the office to answer your calls from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. - Monday thru Thursday and from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Fridays. We do have an answering service after hours for scheduling and billing questions.
If you need to leave a message for your provider, you may do so through the patient portal. Please allow up to 3 business days for a reply. If the issue is complex as to warrant a phone call or a lengthy email from your provider, we do bill insurance for these communications and you will be responsible for any charges applied to your deductible or copays. Please note, that many insurance providers do not allow these types of visits, and you will be billed at our non-insurance rates.
LAB RESULTS
Many of the laboratory tests our physicians order are complex and are integral to diagnosing complex conditions. Because of this, lab results will only be discussed with your doctor at office visits. Results of these complex labs will not be available until you can discuss the findings with your doctor. If you need an appointment to review these, please call our office. Any lab results that do not need interpretation will be available on the patient portal after your doctor has reviewed them.
Please note that our office staff will not have access to your lab results until they are reviewed by your provider and/or are available on the portal.
LAB BILLING QUESTIONS
As a convenience we provide lab services in office. These samples are collected and processed for shipping to specialty labs or pickup by local labs. For this service we do charge a $25 lab processing and handling fee. This fee is NOT billable to insurance.
Our Medical Assistant will provide you with instructions prior to your collection and will provide you with instructions for paying these labs at the time of collection. If you have billing questions after the lab has received your samples, please contact that lab directly. We do not have access to billing information for labs.
PRESCRIPTION REFILLS
Refills of medication are usually written at the time of your appointment. If you need a refill between appointments, please contact your pharmacy, and they will fax a refill request. Refills are not considered an emergency and will be handled between 9am and 5pm, within 48 business hours.
MEDICATION REVIEW & NEW PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS (outside of scheduled appointment)
If you would like review of your current supplements or prescriptions, please schedule a regular office visit. This can be billed to insurance. If you request review outside of a normal office visit, please note that we charge up to $75 non-billable to insurance for the provider’s time.
SUPPLEMENT REFILLS/RETURNS
To refill the supplements prescribed from our natural pharmacy, please call the clinic or complete the pharmacy order form on the patient portal. You can pick up your refills at the clinic, or we can mail them to you. Please give our staff 48 hours' notice to prepare your order.
Unopened supplements purchased within 7 days can be returned for clinic credit only. If you have an unexpected reaction or intolerance to a particular supplement, please contact your provider to arrange a return and a credit to the card you purchased the supplement with.
FRAGRANCES
To protect our patients who are sensitive to fragrances, we are a fragrance-fee clinic. Please refrain from wearing fragrances. This also includes odors of cigarette smoke or marijuana. These can trigger asthma attacks in certain patients.
CANCELLATIONS/RESCHEDULING/LATE ARRIVALS
Please call to cancel appointments, providing at least 48 hours’ notice. If you fail to cancel your appointment via phone within 48 hours, you will be charged the full cost for your appointment - $350 First Visit or $165 for return visits. One missed appointment per year will be forgiven.
We do understand that there are circumstances that may prevent you from getting to your appointment on time. If you are going to arrive more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, please call to reschedule.