Do you have questions about your bill? Understanding and anticipating charges can help you feel more in control of your care. This article will walk you through WellQor’s policies on patient responsibilities, no-show fees, credit card authorizations, and answers common questions about billing charges.
Credit Card Authorization
At WellQor, our primary goal is to provide seamless and efficient healthcare services to our clients. To help us achieve this, we require patients to keep a credit card on file. This practice ensures that we can efficiently manage billing for patient responsibilities and other associated costs.
Patient Responsibilities Explained
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- Copays: Copays are fixed amounts determined by your insurance plan that you are responsible to pay for specific healthcare services. In traditional office settings, these are paid at the time of your visit. As a virtual provider group, having a credit card on file allows WellQor to process these payments soon after your visit, so you can focus on your health rather than financial transactions.
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- Coinsurance: Co-insurance is a percentage of the total cost of treatment that an insurance plan requires the patient to pay. This percentage can vary by plan, and not all plans have coinsurance. Having a card on file allows us to promptly and accurately charge your coinsurance as determined by your insurance company.
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- Deductibles: Insurance deductibles are the amount patients must pay out-of-pocket before their insurance plan begins to cover expenses. Not all plans have a deductible and deductibles don’t always apply to outpatient mental health services. If you have a deductible, deductibles reset at the beginning of the year. By keeping a credit card on file, we can promptly and accurately charge your deductible amounts as determined by your insurance company.
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- No-Show fees: WellQor charges a no-show fee of $90 for any session that is not canceled with 24 or more hours of prior notice. To avoid these charges, always cancel appointments with plenty of notice using our patient portal or appointment management functionality.
Covering the Costs of No-Shows
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- Appointment Efficiency: Appointment efficiency is one of many reasons why therapists charge no-show fees. When patients miss scheduled appointments without providing adequate notice, it disrupts our schedule and prevents other patients from receiving timely care. Keeping a credit card on file allows us to charge a no-show fee, helping to mitigate the costs associated with these disruptions and encouraging responsible scheduling.
- Financial Responsibility: No-show fees help ensure that patients understand the importance of keeping their appointments or notifying us in advance if they need to cancel or reschedule. This practice helps us maintain a high standard of care and availability for all our patients.
Why and when does WellQor charge your credit card?
WellQor will automatically charge your credit card on file 5 days after issuing a bill for any of the patient financial obligations listed above. Patient responsibility associated with your insurance benefits are estimated in our onboarding process, but truly assessed post claim adjudication- which can be found on the EOBs you receive from your insurance company. Claim adjudication is done by your insurance company after receiving a claim from WellQor for your session.
The timing of these charges may vary – but typically occurs as follows:
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- No-show / late cancellation fees: A bill is typically generated within one week of the missed appointment, and your card will be charged 5 days later.
- Copays: A bill is typically generated within one week of the appointment and will be charged 5 days later.
- Coinsurance and Deductibles: Coinsurance and deductible charges are billed after your insurance processes your claim and generates the EOB for your visit. This process can take 3 to 8 weeks.
Why did I have multiple charges for a single visit?
At WellQor, we strive to provide clear and transparent billing practices to ensure our clients understand their financial responsibilities.
Sometimes, you may notice multiple credit card charges for a single visit. This typically happens when an upfront copay is assessed and charged at the time of the visit, followed by additional charges applied to your deductible after your insurance claim has been processed.
Example Scenario:
- Visit Date: You visit our office on January 1st.
- Copay Charge: The $30 copay for this visit is charged to your credit card on approximately January 10th
- Insurance Processing: We submit a claim to your insurance company for $150 for the services provided on January 1st
- Deductible Charge: After your insurance company processes the claim, they apply the entire $150 of the service cost to your deductible. We receive the EOB on February 15th and issue a bill for the remaining $120 ($150 minus the $30 copayment you already paid) on February 20th. Your card on file is automatically charged 5 days later.
My visit was so long ago, why are you charging me now?
Claims processing by insurance plans varies. While the average time to process a claim is 4-6 weeks, it can take longer. Until a claim is processed by your insurance plan we often do not know the full patient responsibility. In other words, we are dependent on the speed in which your insurance company processes your claims. Sometimes, your insurance plan may adjudicate multiple claims at once, resulting in multiple bills at one time.
Additionally, while not the norm, there may be insurance term denials that occur retrospectively. These could happen months past the original date of service.
What security procedures are in place to store my credit card information?
Credit card information is stored securely and protected by encryption, in compliance with industry standards (PCI).
PCI DSS is a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. These standards are developed and maintained by the PCI Security Standards Council, which was founded by major credit card companies including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.
Using an HSA or FSA Account
If you have an HSA (Health Savings Account) or FSA (Flex Spending Account) credit card you are intending to use to pay for visits, you can place this card on file to be charged.
In the event your HSA/FSA card is not accepted by the system, you are able to retain receipts/superbills and submit them to your insurance company for reimbursement. If you need a detailed receipt/superbill, please email billing@wellqor.com.
