Insurance Coverages and Patient Registration
Patients and their families frequently ask the question:
"Will my insurance cover this procedure?"
The safe answer is: "Check with your insurance provider." Coverage varies widely among insurance carriers and within plans they offer. Your financial responsibility will vary depending on the type of service, type of professional providing the service, and your health insurance plan.
UI Health Care Insurance Contracts
Get Specifics from Your Insurer
You will need to contact your insurance provider to verify your plan’s specific coverage. You may be responsible for pre-authorization of services provided. Failure to authorize may result in the denial of payment by an insurance company. If the insurance company does not approve payment you will be responsible for payment in full.
Your Responsibilities
Many plans require you to pay a co-payment at the time the service is provided. The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics can receive your co-payment on a debit or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express).
It is your responsibility to ensure that your insurance company has up-to-date and correct information about you and others covered by your insurance.
Upon receiving your insurance information, we will submit a claim to your insurance company. Payment for service will be sent to UI Health Care. If your insurance company fails to pay within a reasonable time, you will be billed for the services.
Many health insurance plans limit the payment for medical services based on their own schedule of “usual, customary, and reasonable” (UCR) allowances. These allowances are acceptable:
- If University of Iowa Health Care has a contract with your insurance company and the charge is on the fee schedule, the difference between the charge amount and the UCR amount will not be billed to you.
- If UI Health Care does not have a contract with your insurance company, the difference between the charge amount and the UCR amount will be billed to you.