• You Have the Right to Receive a Good Faith Estimate of Expected Charges under the No Surprises Act
• You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost for any non-emergency items or services. 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.
• If you are a self-pay patient, we will provide you with a Good Faith Estimate in writing through the patient portal at least 1 business day prior to your appointment. You can call us or email us to request self-pay rates before you schedule an appointment.
• If you receive a bill that is $400 or more than your Good Faith Estimate per date of service, you can dispute the bill. Email us with a copy or picture of the Good Faith Estimate and your bill from us for prompt resolution.
• 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.

As of January 1, 2022, consumers have new billing protections when getting emergency care, non-emergency care from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, and air ambulance services from out-of-network providers. Through new rules aimed to protect consumers, excessive out-of-pocket costs are restricted, and emergency services must continue to be covered without any prior authorization, and regardless of whether or not a provider or facility is in-network.

Previously, if consumers had health coverage and got care from an out-of-network provider, their health plan usually wouldn’t cover the entire out-of-network cost. This left many with higher costs than if they’d been seen by an in-network provider. This is especially common in an emergency situation, where consumers might not be able to choose the provider. Even if a consumer goes to an in-network hospital, they might get care from out-of-network providers at that facility.

In many cases, the out-of-network provider could bill consumers for the difference between the charges the provider billed, and the amount paid by the consumer’s health plan. This is known as balance billing. An unexpected balance bill is called a surprise bill.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was enacted on December 27, 2020 and contains many provisions to help protect consumers from surprise bills, including the No Surprises Act under title I and Transparency under title II. Learn more about protections for consumers, understanding costs in advance to avoid surprise bills, and what happens when payment disagreements arise after receiving medical care.