Billing and Payment

If payment in full or mutually agreed upon payment arrangements are not obtained in a timely manner your bill becomes delinquent and the account may be referred to an outside collection agency.

Children’s Hospital encourages you to contact our Patient Financial Services if you cannot pay the balance due. One of our friendly customer service representatives or a financial counselor will be happy to discuss all of our payment options with you and help you find the plan that best fits your budget. You can reach a representative at: (510) 428-3485

It is important to avoid becoming a delinquent account. Delinquent accounts may be referred to outside collection agencies if payment in full or mutually agreed upon payment arrangements are not obtained in a timely manner.

Children’s Hospital encourages you to contact our Patient Financial Services if you do not receive a bill within 90 days after the service or if you cannot pay the balance due. One of our friendly customer service representatives or a financial counselor will be happy to discuss all of our payment options with you and help you find the plan that best fits your budget.

If you are uninsured or underinsured or experiencing financial hardship and unable to make the full payment of your bill, financial assistance may be available. A Financial Counselor can help you determine your eligibility for government and community programs that may help cover medical expenses. For more information, contact our Financial Counseling office at: (510) 428-3576

Yes, our Patient Account representatives in our Patient Financial Services Department can set up formal payment arrangements based on our established policies. You can reach a representative at: (510) 428-3485

To get answers to your billing questions, please call our Patient Account representatives between 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at: (510) 428-3485

You may also send an email to patientaccounts@mail.cho.org. Please allow a minimum of two business days to respond to your email requests. Please do not use this email address to send personal information such as your account or credit card numbers.

To pay the balance due:

• BY MAIL: Detach the top portion of your billing statement and include your check, money order, or credit card information (include the credit card expiration date) in the envelope provided with your billing statement.
  
  
• BY TELEPHONE: We are happy to assist you with your credit card payment over the telephone. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Please have your account number available and call Patient Financial Services Department at: (510) 428-3485

Co-payments are due at the time of service. If you are unsure of your co-pay responsibility, please consult your health insurance policy. If you are an inpatient, our financial counselors will obtain the deductible information at the time they check your eligibility.

Patient balances are due upon receipt of your billing statement. If you change addresses after receiving services—please contact Patient Financial Services to avoid problems receiving your bill and delinquent accounts.

You are likely to receive at least 2 separate bills for services rendered. For one visit you may receive a bill from:

• Private physicians who provided services
• Your own primary care physician
• The Hospital/Facility—charges for any hospital services

At Children’s Hospital, we bill for the hospital services only.

By law, the doctors who practice at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland hospitals are independent contractors and not employees of the hospital. As independent contractors, they bill for their services separately—as does the hospital.

If multiple doctors representing different specialties provide services during your stay in the hospital, then you will receive a bill from each of the doctors who provided care to you during your stay. Sometimes, this includes doctors you may not realize provided care to you, such as the radiologist who read and interpreted your x-ray.

For example: If your child is a patient that has an outpatient surgery—you will receive a billing statement from UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland for the hospital facility charges. You will also receive separate billing statements from the physicians performing your surgery and the anesthesiologist.

Some doctors are not in-network even though the hospital is. As independent contractors, the doctors who work in our hospitals are free to contract with any health plan. Because these doctors are independent, the hospital does not require that they be "in-network." To be certain about your coverage, you must check with your insurance plan about a particular provider's status.

Patient balances due may also influence what bills you will receive for a visit:

• If an unpaid balance remains after all insurances have processed your claim, you will receive a billing statement.
• You may also receive a billing statement from us if your insurance does not pay your claim.

As a courtesy, Patient Financial Services will bill our hospital services claim to your health insurance carrier if complete information was provided at the time of registration. To insure proper and prompt processing of your claim, please be sure to verify the insurance information we have at the time of your registration.

If you have questions about what is and is not covered under your healthcare policy, please consult your healthcare policy provider. Though we try and assist our patients on coverage question’s it is your responsibility to know what is covered under your policy.

Once your insurer processes your claim, we will file any secondary insurances provided to us.