Billing

Thank you for choosing Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital for your care!

We are committed to our mission of providing the highest quality care and to assist you in a positive and friendly manner. For assistance in understanding our fees and policies, please call and speak to one of our financial services representatives.

• For questions concerning bills with dates of service prior to December 1, 2010, please call 765.747.3068.
   
• For bills with dates of service after December 1, 2010, please call 317.612.2754 or toll-free 877.668.5621.

When contacting us, it is helpful to have the account number ready and to make written notes about phone calls and conversations regarding your bill.

Helpful Advice

When organizing your statements, it is helpful to create folders labeled "physician bills," "hospital bills" and "anesthesia bills" to help match them with the explanation of benefits, a document the insurance company will send.

If you have more than one person in the household who is served by IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, it might be helpful to sort the bills by person and date of service.

Stay Informed

Review your bills carefully, call the number on the statement if you have any questions and know as much about your insurance plan benefits as possible.

Understanding Your Bill

After you receive care at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, we will send a claim to the insurance company to pay the bill if you have insurance. Our financial service representatives will work diligently to minimize your financial burden by maximizing the insurance benefits.

There may be multiple separate billing statements for the health care services, which may include statements from the hospital or facility, the physician or professional service fee and anesthesia fees if anesthesia was needed to perform a procedure.

Billing Insurance

We will process your account based on information provided during the registration at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, and then we will bill your insurance company. You can help us by providing the most current insurance information during registration.

Confirming Patient and Insurance Information

We will send you a statement from IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital confirming the personal and insurance information provided at registration. You can help by reviewing the statement and if there are changes, call financial services at765.747.3068.

Payment

We wait for payment from the insurance companies. If we don't receive the payment in a reasonable time, we may contact the insurance company again. If your insurance company asks you for additional information, please respond quickly and call to let us know so we can update our records.

Insurance Problems

We may ask for your help if there is a problem with processing the claim with the insurance company. If you don't receive an explanation of benefits from your insurance company within a month, please contact them to determine the status of the claim.

After Insurance Makes Payment

After insurance makes all payments, we may send you a billing statement from IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital for the remaining balance, if any exists.

FAQ---Frequently asked questions about bills and statements

Q: I received a billing statement, so how will I know my insurance company paid its part?
A: If you have any questions about the insurance payment, please call your insurance company directly. The insurance company's phone number is usually printed on the insurance card.

Q: What if I forget to bring my insurance information?
A: You will be registered as "self-pay" during registration, which means you are responsible for the entire bill. You should call financial services immediately at 765.747.3068 after you get home to provide your insurance information.

Q: Why are some of the charges covered by insurance while others are not?
A: Coverage can change every year, depending on your benefit plan. Hospital coverage usually has a deductible or an out-of-pocket expense. Since each plan can be different, we suggest families carefully review the benefits their insurance company provides.

Medicare FAQ---Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If Medicare will not pay for a service, does that mean that I do not need the service?
A: No. Your doctor bases decisions on a wide range of factors including your personal medical history, any medications you might be taking, and generally accepted medical practices. Even if your doctor believes a particular test or service is appropriate for you, it is possible Medicare may not consider the service to be medically necessary for patients with your diagnosis.

Q: What is "Medical Necessity"?
A: Medicare covers only those services which are reasonable and necessary for your treatment. Medicare requires all providers to report information regarding the patient's diagnosis when seeking payment in order to determine whether the services ordered were medically necessary.

Q: What is an ABN?
A: An ABN is an Advance Beneficiary Notice. The purpose of the ABN is to give you advance notice that Medicare may not pay for your services. The ABN tells you which test(s) are not reasonable and necessary and informs you that you will be financially responsible for the services. When it is required, you will be asked to sign the ABN before services are performed.

Q: What options do I have?
A: You have two options when an ABN form is presented to you.

You may:    

• Agree to be responsible for payment of services that Medicare does not consider reasonable and necessary and receive the services or,
•     Refuse to be responsible for payment of services that Medicare will not cover and, therefore, not receive the tests or services.

Q: What are my rights as a patient?
A: As a Medicare beneficiary, you have certain guaranteed rights. These rights protect you when you receive health care; assure you access to needed health care services; and protect you against unethical practices.

Q: What if I decline to sign the ABN?
A: If you demand the service(s) and decline to sign the ABN, the services will be performed and you will be responsible for payment.

Q: How does the billing process work?
A: Generally, your doctor will bill Medicare when you receive a service at his/her office. However, when your doctor orders testing from a facility or laboratory outside of his or her office, the facility performs the tests which were requested and the facility, not your doctor, bills Medicare directly for the tests being performed for you. The facility provides Medicare with your Medicare number, the tests performed, and your diagnosis provided by your doctor.