Ear Medical Group accepts many indemnity-type insurance plans, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. We also accept many PPO plans, and HMO plans. If you have questions about your policy or benefits, please do not hesitate to call any of our insurance specialists at (210) 614-6070.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

At the Ear medical Group, we are committed to educating our patients and their families about their financial responsibilities related to services provided by us. We realize that there is an overwhelming amount of information that is given to you at your office visit concerning your disease, your diagnosis, and treatment. Much of the information is technical and difficult to understand. When the financial and insurance terminology is added on top of this, the result can easily be total confusion. The following is a list of definitions and explanations that we hope you will find helpful in understanding your insurance statements and billing obligations.

In the recent past, it has become obvious that many insurance companies, while giving the appearance of providing comprehensive healthcare coverage, in actuality do not begin to cover all the patient's needs. This has not infrequently been identified "medically unnecessary." Obviously, medical progress and literature advances at a far greater rate than insurance reimbursement coverage. In addition, there is no incentive for an insurer to move quickly on establishing new codes and coverage since this only adds to their expense. Here at the Ear Medical Group, we pride ourselves in providing state of the art, world-class medical care. Unfortunately, this not infrequently places us in the difficult position of recommending a treatment that is not currently covered by insurance. Coverage does not equate to medical necessity. Nevertheless, we at the Ear Medical Group pride ourselves on acting first and foremost as the patient's advocate in regard to their healthcare needs. This will occasionally mean that you as an insured patient will have greater out of pocket expense than you may have anticipated.

A recent development in the documentation and reimbursement process is the implementation and direct correlation of charting with reimbursement levels. In order for us to obtain proper and fair payment from insurance companies, they have required us to document a tremendous amount of information with each visit. As a consequence of this, it will be necessary for you to fill out several forms before and during your visit at the Ear Medical Group. We apologize for this inconvenience; however, failure to properly document all the necessary healthcare information will result in claims being down coded or denied. Therefore, your patience and thoroughness in filling out any forms given to you will avoid problems down the line.

After reading this information, if you have any questions, please feel free to call our insurance department. The insurance department is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm. Financial counseling is available to all our patients via a walk-in appointment or by telephone consultation at (210) 614-6070. Thank you again for choosing the Ear Medical Group for you and your family's hearing and balance healthcare.