Frequently Asked Questions About Billing, Insurance, and Records
At least once a month, you will receive a statement that lists what your insurance company still owes and what you owe. Statements continue until all payments are made in full.
If your insurance plan does not cover the services you received, you are financially responsible for your charges.
In most cases, we can help establish a payment plan depending on your balances due. Partial payments made toward your balance will not stop collection activity unless you have made payment arrangements with us. Please call Patient Billing Services to discuss payment options:
Phone: 1-319-384-2196
Toll Free: 1-866-393-4605
Yes, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
We use a combined billing statement, which means we bill you for both the doctor and the use of the facility and equipment on the same bill. This allows you to receive one bill and make one payment for both charges.
If you have billing questions, contact University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Patient Billing Services:
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: 1-319-384-2196
Toll Free: 1-866-393-4605
Medical professionals assist in your care even though you may not meet them. Physicians who oversee the residents, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, pathologists, radiologists, and X-ray and imaging technicians involved in your care may be listed on your statement.
It could have been partly applied to the doctor portion and partly applied to the facility portion. We post your payment to the oldest charges first. On your billing statement, we itemize both the charges and your payments by date.
The A&A - Authorization to Bill and Authorization to Release of Information for Payment is available to print, fill out, and send back to us.
Balances of $499.99 or less — 3 months or less; balances of $500 or more — 12 months or less, with a minimum payment required of $25.
Your adult child has to sign a “release” for us to be able to provide you with any information about their account.
A Consent to Release of Information Form 1989 is available to print, fill out, and send back to us.
Register for MyChart now.
UI Hospitals & Clinics offers Patient Financial Assistance for qualifying patients. You can talk to Patient Billing Services, Customer Service, or Financial Counseling.
Patient Billing Services
Phone: 1-319-384-2196
Toll Free: 1-866-393-4605
Financial counseling will be able to provide you with an estimate of upcoming charges. Please call 1-319-384-6275.
Deductible and co-insurance requirements per your contract benefits may be the additional responsibility.
After a 120-day billing cycle, your balances may transfer to an outside agency.
We can have it reviewed by coding and compliance.
Labs and/or X-rays from providers outside of UI Hospitals & Clinics may work with us to review results, and will therefore result in doctor charges for the reading of those labs/X-rays.
Clinics at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics are considered “hospital-based” clinics. So when you see a doctor or get care in a clinic at UI Hospitals & Clinics, you are being treated within the hospital using doctor care and hospital care. Doctor care and hospital care must be billed separately, even though they occur together, at the same time. This allows us to provide you with higher quality and seamlessly coordinated care.
Patient bills from UI Hospitals & Clinics have charges for care and/or procedures performed by your doctor and charges for support and care of the hospital/clinic. Depending on your health insurance plan, this may result in a higher out-of-pocket cost for you.
Please review your health care benefits or call your health insurance company to find out if your plan covers facility charges in a hospital-based outpatient clinic and how much of the charge is covered or will be put toward your deductible or coinsurance.
If you have more questions about your patient bill, please call UI Hospitals & Clinics Patient Billing Care from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1-319-384-2196, or toll-free at 1-866-393-4605, or email: [email protected]
When you get emergency care or are treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise medical bills, also known as balance billing. In these cases, you should not be charged more than your health insurance plan’s copayments, coinsurance, or deductible.
UI Health Care does not participate in balance billing. If you think you have been wrongly billed, contact the Patient Billing Service office at 1-866-393-4605 or [email protected].
Learn more by reading Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills.
See this Glossary of Health Coverage and Medical Terms prepared by the Centers for Medicare and Medical Services. Terms and definitions are intended to be educational and may be different from the terms and definitions in your plan.
Coverage varies by insurance provider, but your insurance will always be billed first. If your insurance does not cover this type of virtual care, you will be billed directly. Please reach out to your insurance provider to determine your coverage. Most insurance providers are covering this service.