Our first priority is to provide the highest level of care to each and every one of our patients. In a time when health care and insurance coverage is complicated, our new patient care coordinators are prepared to explain your coverage as it relates to your care here at Virginia Spine Institute, and answer any questions you may have. Furthermore, our insurance liaisons will serve as a resource to you throughout the duration of your care. This includes identifying prior authorization requirements for visits, imaging studies or testings, determining deductible and co-payment requirements, and understanding payments related to non-operative procedures or surgical planning.
If you have an inquiry regarding your medical bill, our dedicated Billing Team is available to assist you. You can reach one of our Billing Specialists by calling 703.709.6512 on weekdays during business hours from 8am and 5pmEST. If you are an existing patient, we invite you to login to our secure patient portal to access your account online. If you would like to pay an existing bill online please do so through your patient portal account.
If you have experienced a work-related injury, you may seek treatment under workers compensation. At Virginia Spine Institute our top priority is to get you back to work as safely and as quickly as possible. We will work directly with you and your case manager to set up your initial consultation appointment. Our dedicated Workers Compensation Liaison will team up with your case manager to navigate the paperwork and necessary processes to comply with state regulations.
When you get emergency care or are treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing.
When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as a copayment, coinsurance, and/or a deductible. You may have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network.
“Out-of-network” describes providers and facilities that haven’t signed a contract with your health plan. Out-of-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay, and the full amount charged for a service. This is called “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward your annual out-of-pocket limit.
“Surprise billing” is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can’t control who is involved in your care-like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider.
Insurers are required to tell you which providers and facilities are in their networks. Providers and facilities must tell you with which provider networks they participate. This information is on the insurer’s, provider’s, or facility’s website or on request.
Emergency services
If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-ofnetwork provider or facility, the most the provider or facility may bill you is your plan’s innetwork cost-sharing amount (such as deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance). You can’t be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services at the same facility
that you may get after you’re in stable condition unless you give written consent and give
up your protections not to be balanced billed for these post-stabilization services.
Certain services at an in-network facility
When you get services from an in-network facility, certain providers there may be out-ofnetwork. In these cases, the most those providers may bill you is your plan’s in-network costsharing amount. This applies to emergency medicine, laboratory, surgeon and assistant surgeon services, and professional ancillary services such as anesthesia, pathology, radiology, neonatology, hospitalist, or intensivist services. These providers can’t balance bill you and can’t ask you to give up your protections not to be balance billed.
If you receive other services at these in-network facilities, out-of-network providers can’t balance bill you, unless you give written consent and give up your protections.
You’re never required to give up your protections from balance billing. You also aren’t required to get care out-of-network. You can choose a provider or facility in your plan’s network.
If you believe you’ve been wrongly billed, you may call the federal agencies responsible for enforcing the federal balance billing protection law at: 1-800-985-3059 and/or file a complaint with the Virginia State Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance at:
scc.virginia.gov/pages/File-Complaint-Consumers or call 1-877-310-6560.
Visit cms.gov/nosurprises for more information about your rights under federal law.
Consumers covered under (i) a fully-insured policy issued in Virginia, (ii) the Virginia state employee health benefit plan; or (iii) a self-funded group that opted-in to the Virginia protections are also protected from balance billing under Virginia law. Visit scc.virginia.gov/pages/BalanceBilling-Protection for more information about your rights under Virginia law.
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees. Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.