It’s important for you to know what your insurance plan covers. We will submit a bill for all hospital charges to your health insurance company. The company may or may not provide full coverage of your hospital bill. We encourage you to become familiar with your insurance coverage so you will understand your full or partial benefits. If you need help understanding some of the information in your health insurance policy, contact your insurance company or call Norton Healthcare customer service to speak to a representative or financial counselor.

During the registration process you will need to present your insurance card(s) and any other pertinent insurance information.

Many insurance companies may require preauthorization, second opinions, deductibles and copays as a part of their coverage. Some of these may apply to your maximum out-of-pocket cost.

Charges not covered by insurance become your responsibility. They may be payable when you are discharged unless you have made prior arrangements. We understand that when an individual or a family is dealing with illness or injury, their financial situation may be strained. That’s why Norton Healthcare has a variety of payment options and financial assistance programs available if these charges are difficult for you to handle at this time in your life.

If you don’t have insurance, we may be able to help.

Norton Healthcare offers a variety of options to help you with payment of services that you receive.

These include help with:

• Applying for federally funded and state-funded programs
• Applying for local financial assistance
• Applying for Norton Charity financial assistance
• Applying for Children’s Hospital Charity financial assistance
• Applying for discount programs for the uninsured and underinsured
• Making payment arrangements that fit into your personal budget

Your bill may include a daily room rate, which includes your nursing care, meals, and services such as linens and housekeeping. You also may see charges for services ordered by your physician, such as laboratory tests, X-rays, medications, treatments and therapy, operating room, anesthesia medications and recovery room services.

Hospital bills do not cover charges from specialists or consulting physicians who have cared for you in the hospital. These physician specialists will bill you separately for their charges.

Here are a few examples:

• If you have X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans or nuclear medicine exams, you will be billed separately by the radiologist.
• If surgery or epidural anesthetic was required, you will be billed separately by the surgeon and anesthesiologist or anesthetist.
• If an EKG or other cardiac procedure was needed, you will be billed separately by the cardiologist.
• If certain types of laboratory tests were required, you will be billed separately by the pathologist.
• If your admission resulted from an Emergency Department visit, you will be billed separately by the Emergency Department physician.

In addition to these examples, you may be billed directly by other specialists or consulting physicians if they were needed for your diagnosis or treatment. It is important to know that these bills may or may not be covered by your insurance, and they are independent from the hospital bill. Your insurance policy or insurance representative will help you to determine which services are covered.

No. Your hospital bill will not include an itemized statement. However, we will gladly provide you with an itemized statement of all charges if you would like to have one. After you are discharged, call Norton Healthcare customer service at (502) 479-6300, and we will be happy to help you.

Accurate, current insurance information will help us file an insurance claim on your behalf. We realize that hospital visits often are unexpected and that you may not be able to provide insurance information at registration. If this is the case, call Norton Healthcare customer service at (502) 479-6300 with your complete billing information as soon as you are able to do so.

Insurance companies have various requirements for their subscribers who file health insurance claims. These requirements should be outlined in your insurance company’s benefits package.

Here are a few examples.

• Some insurance companies require you to have a “referral.” Please note that a “physician referral” may be different from the facility’s “referral number.”
• Some insurance companies contract with some, but not all, hospitals and health care facilities. We encourage you to contact your insurance company to find out if they contract with the facility where you are receiving your health care. A facility may be “in-network” or “out-of-network” and the benefits for each may be different.
• Different insurance companies will pay different amounts for procedures and services. There may be an amount the insurance company expects you to pay (this is called your co-insurance, copay or deductible). Ask your insurance company how much your insurance will pay based on your coverage and how much of the cost you will need to pay.
• Workers’ compensationBefore you can file a claim with your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier, you must complete an injury report. The hospital will require your employer’s name, address and telephone number, as well as the name, address and telephone number of your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier.In addition, at the time of service, the registrar will ask for your personal medical health insurance in case the workers’ compensation carrier does not pay your claim in full. If workers’ compensation denies your claim and you are unable to provide health insurance information or do not have health insurance, then you will be held responsible for the charges. Feel free to call Norton Healthcare customer service at (502) 479-6300 to discuss some of the options available to patients without insurance.
• MedicareMedicare is the national health insurance program for people age 65 and older, certain people under age 65 who have disabilities, and people with permanent kidney failure requiring intensive service such as a transplant or dialysis.Medicare requires that you complete a Medicare Secondary Payer Questionnaire to ensure that Medicare is the primary payer for this visit., The registrar will ask you certain questions to complete the questionnaire: Are you seeking health care because of an accident? Are you employed? Do you have a separate health insurance carrier? These questions will be asked each time you receive health care services. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may add to your registration; however, it is a requirement of Medicare.Medicare also requires that outpatient services be medically necessary, based on your diagnosis and the type of procedure being performed. In certain situations you may be asked to complete an Advanced Beneficiary Notification (ABN) before you receive a medical service. This means that you may be responsible for the bill if Medicare determines the services are not medically necessary. Be sure to read and understand the covered and non covered services that are outlined in your Medicare Handbook. Refer to the sections on ABNs and Local Medical Review Policies (LMRPs).Currently, Medicare does not cover self-administered drugs given in an outpatient setting at a hospital. Examples of self-administered drugs include, but are not limited to, prescription or nonprescription pills, creams, suppositories, inhalers and liquids. Again, please refer to your Medicare Handbook for additional information on noncovered self-administered drugs in an outpatient setting.
• Medicaid / PassportIt is extremely important that you furnish a copy of your current Medicaid/Passport card(s) at the time of service. The ID number on the card identifies which plan you are using and it is vital that we have that in your records so the correct plan may be billed. This will reduce delays in processing your claims. Also, if you are covered under Medicaid and have a KENPAC physician listed on your card, it is important that you let the registration department know this so your primary care physician can be contacted to approve your services in advance.Norton Healthcare also participates with several of the various Indiana Medicaid programs. If you are assigned to a primary care physician in Indiana, please notify the registration department so your Indiana primary care physician may be contacted for approval of your services. Certain billing requirements must be followed for the services to be covered and paid by Indiana Medicaid.
• Auto insuranceBefore a hospital can file a claim with your auto insurance carrier, you must have filed a claim (a record of your report about the auto accident) with your auto insurance carrier.Your auto insurance carrier also will require that you complete a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) application. This application must be completed and returned to your auto insurance carrier before payment will be issued for any medical claims.Upon arrival at the hospital, the registrar also will ask for a copy of your medical insurance card, in case the auto insurance carrier does not pay the claim in full.Additionally, the registrar will need the name of the person driving the other vehicle that was involved in the accident, as well as the name and phone number of his or her auto insurance company, in case that insurance company is responsible for payment of any portion of your bill.