No Surprises Legislation and YOUR Good Faith Estimate
Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta is committed to helping you navigate issues that govern your physical and financial health. There are two new laws that may impact healthcare billing: the Georgia Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act (a Georgia state law) and the No Surprises Act (a federal law), and their respective implementing regulations. Pursuant to the No Surprises Act, patients who are uninsured or self-pay are generally entitled to a good faith estimate of costs and services for non-emergency care in most circumstances.
Surprise Billing – Your Right to a Good Faith Estimate
Physician offices are required to provide patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services based on information known at the time. This estimate will assist in explaining how much your medical care is anticipated to cost.
Please note that a good faith estimate is an estimate based on information known at the time with respect to anticipated non-emergency items/services. The good faith estimate is not a guarantee that your final costs will match the estimate. This means that the final cost of services may be different than this estimate. Final costs for which you are billed may vary for many reasons, among them are the patient’s medical condition, unknown circumstances or complications, final diagnosis, and recommended treatment ordered by the physician.
You have the right to receive a good faith estimate for the total expected cost of non-emergency items or services. You can request a good faith estimate at any time by contacting our office. Different time frames apply with respect to providing you a good faith estimate depending on when/how far in advance your non-emergency care is scheduled. Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta endeavors to provide all estimates as soon as practicable.
Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta will request an email address to provide you with a good faith estimate. This is the best and easiest way to receive your estimate. Alternatively, you can request a paper copy be mailed to you or that a paper copy is provided to you when you present for your appointment.
If you believe you have not been provided with a good faith estimate when you were supposed to receive one, first contact our practice so we may address your concern. If we can’t resolve your concerns or for more information, you can contact the United States Department of Health and Human Services regarding the federal law or the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Fire Safety (404-656-2070) regarding the Georgia law.