Valley Anesthesiology Consultants, Ltd. billing is handled by Medical
Information Management Solutions, (MIMS). If you have questions about
your bill please contact MIMS directly at 602-744-4760 or send us an email to
mims@mimsolutions.com.
Please be ready to provide the following
information when contacting MIMS:
Anesthesia Charges
Valley
Anesthesiology bills on a fee-for-service basis, which means that we do not
work for the hospital, surgery center or outpatient facilities.
Our services are not covered in the hospital bill; therefore, our bill
to you is based on several factors, including the nature of the surgical
procedure, the time involved, and your health status. The medical facility will
charge you separately for anesthetic medicines, gases, and use of monitoring
and disposable equipment.
Pain Management Charges
Valley Anesthesiology has two pain management offices; located in the Phoenix and
Paradise Valley areas.
Pain management services can also be provided in a medical facility setting.
Pain charges will be billed just like anesthesia charges.
A facility charge may also
accompany the professional charge.
Billing
Procedures
MIMS
will bill your insurance company for professional services rendered associated
with anesthesia and/or pain management care.
We participate with many HMO and PPO insurance plans, which means that payment
should come directly to us. In the event that we do not participate with your
insurance carrier, you will receive a monthly statement showing the status of
your account. If you have not
received an explanation of benefits from your insurance company within 60 days,
you may want to contact your insurance carrier directly to determine the status
of the claim. The insurance
company may have pended our claim for additional information either from the
insured or from another healthcare provider.
Payment Policy
In
many cases there may still be a balance due from you for deductible or
co-insurance amounts after your insurance has paid our claim.
If we have been supplied with information regarding your secondary
insurance, we will bill them for any balance due.
If you do not have secondary insurance, you will receive a statement for
any amount due from you personally.
This balance is due upon receipt of our statement.
If you do not have insurance or cannot
afford to pay the balance after insurance in full within 30 days, please
contact the billing department (MIMS) to set up a monthly payment arrangement
after receiving your first statement.
We understand that expenses associated with surgery can be overwhelming and we
are willing to do what we can to accommodate your financial needs.
We accept payment by cash, check,
money order, Visa , MasterCard , American Express and Discover .
Please mail your payment to MIMS with the top portion of your statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Medical
Information Management Solutions, also known as MIMS?
MIMS handles the
billing and collections for anesthesiologists and pain management physicians
for Valley Anesthesiology Consultants, Ltd.
2. What are MIMS office hours?
MIMS is open Monday
through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed on major holidays.
If the office is closed, or you are unable to reach staff personnel, you
may leave a message on the answering machine.
Your call will be returned as soon as possible.
3. Why are you sending me a bill?
If you receive a
bill from MIMS, you must have recently had a medical procedure requiring
anesthesia or pain management services. A bill will be sent if your
insurance cannot ID you or has not paid, if you have no insurance, or if a
deductible or coinsurance is due.
4. How is anesthesia charged?
Anesthesia is billed
in time units (15 minute increments) and base units, which are assigned by the
American Society of Anesthesiologists for the time spent with you before,
during and after your surgery.
5. Why didnt my insurance pay?
Please call the
patient services department at the number provided on your statement for more
information on why your insurance claim was denied. If you disagree with
the denial, please contact your insurance company.
6. Why is my anesthesiologist not in my
network when my hospital and surgeon are?
Your
anesthesiologist is a separate entity from the hospital.
Anesthesiologists are not required to contract with the same insurance
companies as the hospital. It is
the patients responsibility to verify that all providers are in network.
7. Why am I being billed when I havent
had surgery?
Some
anesthesiologists are also certified to provide pain management or critical
care services. If you have recently received medical care, you may have
been treated by one of these physicians. Please call our patient services
department at the number provided on your statement to verify that your charges
are correct.
8. How long does it take for my
insurance company to make payment?
This varies with
each insurance company. MIMS processes claims daily, usually within 2-3
weeks from the date of service. We allow at least 30 days for the
insurance companies to pay, but often it takes longer.
9. My
insurance company says it needs anesthesia time.
Please notify us of
this request and we will contact your insurance company directly.
10.
Why does the hospital charge for anesthesia also?
The hospital charges
for any anesthesia medications, supplies, and equipment used to monitor your
status while you are under anesthesia.
We bill for the professional services provided by the anesthesiologist.
11. For
what anesthesia charges will I be responsible?
If you have medical
insurance, the balance due from you (copays, deductible, or coinsurance) will
be determined by provider participation with your company, and the coverage
provided by your policy. Please
contact your insurance company to verify anesthesiologists participation and
discuss the terms of your coverage.
If the anesthesiologist does not participate with your company, you will be
responsible for any balance remaining after payment is received from your
insurance company.
12.
What if I have no insurance?
MIMS will make every
attempt to assist those who have no insurance coverage. We offer several plans,
including pre-payment with a negotiated discount and also a flexible payment
plan.
13. I
have met my deductible, why didnt my insurance pay more?
Please contact your
insurance carrier to verify this information. Also, verify that the
rendering physician was a participating provider on your date of service.
14.
You have incorrect insurance information.
Please contact our
patient services department at the number provided on your statement.
15.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all
payment methods - cash, personal or cashiers check, money orders, and the
following credit cards: Visa,
MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
16.
My insurance carrier is requesting additional information from you.
In the event your
insurance carrier needs additional information, they will notify us by phone or
mail. We will return the requested information in a timely manner.
17.
Which insurance carriers do you accept?
Please call our
patient services department to verify if we are a participating provider, or
contact your insurance company for a list of providers.
Many insurance companies have websites where you can search for a
provider in your area.
18.
I called and verified that Valley Anesthesiology was participating with
my insurance company; but later found out that the anesthesiologist was
out-of-network and I was billed as out-of-network.
Valley
Anesthesiology Consultants, Ltd., group contracts with most major insurance
companies. The insurance companies
attempt to keep their membership lists as up-to-date as possible, but there may
be unrecorded changes. Also, the
process required by the insurance company for credentialing a new member of the
group can take from 3 to 6 months to complete; during this time the new
provider may be considered and paid as out-of-network.
19.
Can I get a rough estimate of my anesthesia cost?
If you will be
having surgery in the near future and would like an estimate of the cost of the
anesthesia charges, please call the MIMS office during regular business hours.
20.
I was put to sleep by one Anesthesiologist and woke up to another; will
I receive two bills?
Valley Anesthesia is
a large group that works closely together to ensure that each patient is
provided the utmost in quality care.
Occasionally, an anesthesiologist may be called in to relieve one of his/her
partners during the middle of a case.
Only one bill will be processed with the anesthesiologist who started the case.