Billing services policy

Last reviewed September 2024

Purpose

To ensure all billing processes are consistent with the Attorney General agreement and MN Debt Fairness Act.

Policy

Welia Health will ensure patients are appropriately and timely billed for services rendered.

Procedure

  1. Tolerance. Welia Health has zero tolerance for abusive, harassing, oppressive, false, deceptive, misleading language, collections conduct by its debt collection attorney and agency, and their agents and employees, and Health System employees responsible for collecting medical debt from patients.
  1. Insurance. If you are covered by insurance an insurance plan that we accept, we will bill your insurance plan for the health care services we provide to you based on the insurance information that you provide to us. We accept many insurance plans, but we cannot guarantee that your insurance plan will cover our services. You are responsible for verifying the coverage of your insurance plan and complying with any coverage-related requirements. We will check your insurance eligibility and demographics. If requested, you must present your insurance card and identification information at check-in. If you do not have insurance coverage, we will discuss payment options with you.
  1. Timely Billing. The Health System has developed and implemented procedures to ensure the timely and accurate submission of claims to third party payers. If the Health System timely received from a patient, information about the patient’s third-party payer but does not timely submit a claim to the third-party payer, the Health System shall not bill the patient for any amount more than what the patient would have been responsible had the third-party payer paid the claim. The Health System shall not refer any bill to a third-party collection agency or attorney for collection activity while a claim for payment of the bill is pending with a third-party payer with which the Health System has a contract. The Health System may refer a bill to a third-party collection agency or attorney following an initial denial of the claim by the third-party payer. The Health System shall not refer any bill to a third-party collection agency or attorney for collection activity when a claim is denied by a third-party payer due to the Health Systems error, and such error results in the patient becoming liable for the debt when they would not otherwise be liable. The parties recognize that, for the Health System to properly bill a patient’s insurance company, the Health System may need the patient’s cooperation and that the Health System may not be able to properly bill the patient’s insurance company without the patient’s cooperation. If the Health System believes that a private third-party payer has improperly delayed or denied payment of a claim, the Health System may file a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, which may provide assistance or its patient in attempting to get the claim paid.
  1. Referrals. If your insurance plan requires a referral for you to receive our health care services, you must get the required referral before you are seen at our facility. Failure to get a required referral could reduce your insurance benefit or leave you responsible for the total charges.
  1. Co-Payments, Deductibles, and Other Amounts Not Covered by Insurance. You are responsible for any amounts not paid by insurance. This includes co-payments, deductibles, non-covered services, and any other amounts not covered by insurance. Co-payments are due at the time of your visit.
  1. Statements and Payment Terms. We send billing statements to the patient or responsible person monthly following the initial correspondence we receive from your insurance company. After your insurance company has paid or identified its portion of the bill, the remaining balance is your responsibility and should be paid within thirty-days (30) of the statement date. If you are unable to pay the amount due by the due date, please contact our business office to set up an acceptable payment plan.
  1. Billing Error Review. If you believe that your bill is not accurate, that a third party should pay the bill, or if you have other concerns about your bill, please contact our business office to discuss the matter. If you notify us of a billing error, or we otherwise determine that there is a billing error, we will review the bill and correct any billing errors found. While the review is being conducted, we will not bill you for the health treatment or services that are the subject of the review for potential billing errors. We may resume billing you for the health treatment and services that were reviewed for potential billing errors only after (a) the review is complete, (b) any billing errors are corrected, and (c) a notice of completed review (as detailed below) is transmitted to you. If, after completing the review and correcting any billing errors, we determine you overpaid us under the bill, we will refund the amount overpaid under the bill within 30 days after completing the review.
  1. Required Error Review Notices. Within 30 days of our determining or receiving notice that your bill may contain one or more billing errors, we will notify you (1) of the potential billing error; (2) that we will review the bill and correct any billing errors found; and (3) that while the review is being conducted, we will not bill you for any health treatment or service subject to review for potential billing errors. Within 30 days after we complete this review, we will (1) notify you that the review is complete, (2) explain in detail (a) how any identified billing errors were corrected, or (b) if applicable, why we did not modify the bill as requested, and (3) include applicable coding guidelines, references to health records, and other relevant information.
  1. Medical Debt Owed and Collection. We will send you statements identifying your remaining balance from time to time. If you are having difficulty paying your balance, we encourage you to contact our business office about your account. Our business office staff will help you with questions and concerns, and work with you on a payment plan and other reasonable options to help you pay your balance.
  1. Referral to a Collection Agency or Law Firm. We may use a collection agency or law firm in certain cases where the terms of a payment arrangement or terms of our billing and collection policy have not been met. If you have not paid the balance due within [120] days of the applicable statement date and have not made acceptable payment arrangements with our business office, or have not complied with agreed upon payment arrangements, we may refer your account to a collection agency or law firm. Your medical debt will not be reported by us to a consumer reporting agency or credit bureau.
  1. Ending Collection Activities. We review accounts periodically to confirm the status of any debts, and to identify uncollectible and satisfied debts. We will end collection activities once a debt is identified as satisfied or uncollectable, in accordance with our arrangement with the applicable collection agency or law firm. Our business office staff will provide updates regarding the status of your account upon your request.
  1. Outstanding Debt. We will not deny medically necessary health treatment or services to you or any member of your family or household because of current or previous outstanding medical debt owed by you or any member of your family or household to us, regardless of whether the health treatment or service may be available from another health care provider. As a condition of providing medically necessary health treatment or services when you or any member of your family or household has current or previous outstanding medical debt to us, we may require you to enroll in a payment plan for the outstanding medical debt owed to us. The payment plan will take into account any information you disclose to us regarding your ability to pay. If you are unable to make all or part of the agreed-upon installment payments under any such payment plan, you must communicate your situation us and you must pay an amount you can afford. We may seek other legally permitted remedies in the event of your failure to abide by the payment plan terms.
  1. Legal Requirements. When collecting medical debt, we will comply with all applicable requirements of law (which may include the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, HIPAA, and Minnesota state privacy laws).
  1. Benefit Program. In recognition that some patients express their financial concerns directly to their treatment providers (i.e., doctors, nurses, etc.), the Health System shall train its staff responsible for admissions, billing, and providing direct patient treatment, about the existence of the Welia Health’s Benefit Program and how a patient may obtain more information about the Welia Health’s Benefit Program or submit an application.
  1. Contact. If you have any questions about this policy or our billing and collection process, please contact our business office staff at 320.225.3340 or Welia Health, Business Office, 301 Hwy 65 S, Mora, MN 55051.
SectionBilling ServicsEffective DateOctober 2024
ContactBusiness Office; FinanceLast ReviewSeptember 2024
Approved byGoverning Board
Policy & Procedure Committee		Next ReviewMarch 2025
ReferenceMN Attorney General; Minn. Stat. 62J.806-62J.808Approval DateMay 15, 2024
September 26, 2024
DestinationBusiness Office; Finance

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