Insurance & Payment Policies

 

INSURANCE

At North Peak Dermatology, we gladly accept most major PPO, Medicare, and Brown & Toland plans.

We will ask all patients to present their insurance card and ID upon check-in at our office each time they are seen for medical services. This information will only be shared with our billing department to assist with filing your insurance claim. Please make sure to bring your insurance card at every visit.

Of note, patient's health insurance is a contract between them and their insurance company, including plans that have high deductibles. Recent shifts in the healthcare industry have resulted in insurance companies increasingly transferring costs to patients. You are responsible for any charges not covered by your insurance plan. We would be happy to assist you to the best of our ability with any questions you may have, but please also reach out to your insurance provider with any questions regarding your health plan benefits. 

Referrals: The patient’s insurance plan may require a referral to be completed before seeing a specialist. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper referral in order to be seen for your appointment. If we do not have the proper referral at the time of your appointment, it may be rescheduled.

In-Network: For those patients covered by insurance plans with which North Peak Dermatology is a participating provider, we will determine the copay due at the time of the visit. We will also file the insurance claim to the insurance company.

Out of Network: In the event that the patient’s insurance coverage changes to a plan where we are not a participating provider, our office will require payment in full at the time of service and we will gladly provide a superbill for you to submit on your own. Any charges that are not paid by the insurance company is the patient's responsibility. 

Medicare Patients: Our office will bill Medicare on behalf of the patient as well as any secondary insurance. The patient will be responsible for any balance not paid by Medicare and secondary insurance.

SELF-PAY

Self-pay or uninsured patients are responsible for payment at the time of service.

NON-COVERED SERVICE

Cosmetic services cannot be submitted to insurance and payment in full is due at the time of service. Credit card, check or cash will be accepted.

No-show fee

In order to reserve each individual patient’s full appointment time with our doctors, we require that you notify us at least one full business day prior to your scheduled appointment if you need to cancel or reschedule.

We charge a $50 dollar no-show fee if you miss your scheduled visit and fail to notify us one full business day prior to your scheduled appointment.
For cosmetic and surgery visits, it will be a $150 fee.

For example, if your appointment is on Monday at 10AM, we require that you notify us by Friday at 10AM in order to avoid the cancellation fee.

We would much rather see you than charge you a no-show fee. As a small practice operating in an expensive market, we want to ensure the highest quality of care for all of our patients. If we receive notice that you can no longer make your appointment, it allows us to accommodate another patient with an urgent medical concern.

We at North Peak Dermatology thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation as we strive to best serve the needs of our community.

Good Faith Estimate

THIS IS FOR PATIENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE - FOR MEDICAL SERVICES, NOT COSMETIC

  • You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost

  • Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services

  • You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees

  • Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least one business day before a medical service

  • If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill

  • Make sure to save a copy of your Good Faith Estimate

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 877-696-6775

CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION (CREDIT CARD ON FILE) POLICY

North Peak Dermatology keeps a credit/debit/HSA card on file to be used for any unpaid balances. Due to the high number of deductible plans, and the small nature of our practice, this has become necessary at our practice. It is similar to keeping a credit card for a hotel reservation or using a ride sharing service. We will not charge your card if there is not an active balance. The practice will always email you an invoice explaining these charges and will charge your credit card on file after 14 days. If your credit card information changes or you wish to use a different card for the charges, please contact us at (925) 722-6500. 

Of note, credit card information is stored in our PCI-compliant payment gateway, which employs the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. Once entered, our staff cannot access your credit card number – only the last 4 digits are visible. You’re of course welcome to change the card on file at any time, just let us know.

 


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING CREDIT CARD ON FILE

  • During your visit, we will ask you to sign a “Credit on File Consent”. When our office receives remittance advice/information from your insurance company (typically 2-4 weeks), any remaining portion of charges will be charged to your credit card. You will be notified prior to your card being charged. A receipt will be emailed to you after the payment has been processed. If the payment is declined, we will request updated credit card information or an alternative form of payment.

  • Patients who have a credit card on file will no longer have to worry about statements and mailing in payments. You can also use it to pay for future visits without having to bring your card. Having a credit card on file will make the check-in and check-out process easier, faster and more efficient for patients.

  • It has been our policy that payment is due at time of service. We are encouraging patients to keep their Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) credit cards on file. If you do not have either of these types of cards, then you can use a debit or any other credit card. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover.

  • Under HIPAA, we are under strict state and federal rules and guidelines to protect patient privacy and the credit card is considered protected health information. Your credit card information is stored on a secure and encrypted site, which enables them to run credit card transactions through their computer system. None of our employees will have access to your credit card information. No credit card information will be stored in our practice or within our electronic health medical record.

  • This may be different from what you have always been used to, but it is becoming common practice in most health care facilities with the changes that have come about in the insurance industry as a whole. This policy is being instituted in order to simplify and enhance your patient experience. This change will lower the practice’s administrative expenses in order to allow us to focus more on providing exceptional patient care.

  • Should your card be mistakenly run, we will refund your card. We will only charge the amount that we are instructed to by your insurance plan in the Evidence of Benefits they send to us.

  • Our team is available to speak with you about your account at any time during business hours.