Policies

As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines, but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

• We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

• We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.

• We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP).

• We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

• We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

• We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can support as parents/caregivers.

The recommended vaccines and the schedule of administration are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2019, with 1282 cases from 31 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases(NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that by not vaccinating your child, you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that a child will contract one of these diseases. Even delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over additional visits goes against expert recommendations, is not supported by any scientific data, can lead to unnecessary delays and errors, and can put your child, other children, and adults at risk for serious illness (or even death). It is therefore against our medical advice as professionals at All Starr Pediatrics.

We are committed to providing you with the very best care possible. This goal is best achieved if everyone is aware of the financial policy, which is an agreement between the doctors of the practice and the child’s parent or guardian. Your clear understanding of the financial policy agreement is important to our professional relationship. You may also request for a copy of the All Starr Pediatrics’ detailed financial policy or review it here on our website.

Insurance

As a courtesy to our patients, we will gladly file the forms necessary so that you receive the full benefits of your medical coverage. We ask that you read your insurance policy to be fully aware of any limitations of the benefits provided. If your insurance company denies coverage, or we otherwise do not receive payment 60 days from filing your claim, the amount will then become due and payable by you.*Remember that your coverage is a contract between you and your insurance company and/or your employer and your insurance company. Although we will make a good faith effort to assist you in obtaining your benefits, we cannot force your insurance company to pay for the services we have provided to you.

All parents/guardian must present their insurance card at every visit. Parents who do not provide current proof of insurance may be billed as a self-pay patient. If later the parent/guardian presents their insurance card, services already rendered may or may not be retroactively billed depending on the insurance’s claim filing requirements. If the parent/guardian fails to provide the correct insurance within the submission guidelines of the insurance company, the parent/guardian may be responsible for the total cost of the visit.

It is your responsibility to provide our practice with the accurate and updated medical insurance information that should be used to cover services rendered at each visit. Please disclose any secondary insurance information if you are covered under more than one insurance plan or any changes in coverage. Failure to do so may result in you being held responsible for the balance on your account.

Copays and Deductibles

Depending on your insurance policy, a copayment and/or deductible or coinsurance may be required at the time of service. Payment may be made in cash, by check or by credit card. We also accept Health Savings Account (HSA) cards for payment.

Please note that the copayment is a contractual requirement from the insurance company and cannot be written off by the clinic. If you participate in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and have not yet paid your deductible in full, it is likely that any non-preventive services will require payment at the time those services are rendered. Coinsurance may apply even after meeting your deductible.

Patients Without Insurance Coverage

We are happy to work with families that prefer to pay directly for services or do not have insurance. For such patients, a time of service discount will be applied to the bill if settled in full on the day of service. This discount does not apply after the day of the visit. The same discount will be applied to any non- covered charges for patients with insurance, if paid at the time of service. This discount cannot be applied toward the “patient responsibility” portion of covered charges, as those charges are already discounted through the contract we maintain with your insurer.

*Credit Card on File Policy

All Starr Pediatrics is committed to making our billing process as simple and easy as possible. Effective April 1, 2019 we will require that all patients provide a credit card on file with our office. We will store your card number is a secure, compliant location separate from the electronic medical record. Credit cards on file can be used to pay copays and other charges at the time of the visit. We will also use the stored credit card for payments toward the patient responsibility after processing the visit with your insurance company, unless you make other arrangements within 10 days of being notified of a balance.

Outstanding Balances

Any outstanding balance that is due from the patient is payable in full upon receipt of statement. In the event a patient presents for an office visit and has an outstanding balance, a request for payment will be made. Parents/guardians with delinquent accounts and the inability to pay may need to reschedule the appointment. Statements are generated on a thirty (30) day cycle. Parents who fail to respond to statements will be placed into collection status. Parents with an outstanding balance for more than ninety (90) days may be referred to an outside collection agency and will be charged a 30% collection fee in addition to the balance owed. A parent/guardian with unpaid delinquent accounts or accounts which have been written off to bad debt may not receive additional appointments unless special arrangements have been made. The parents may be discharged from the practice, however, in all situations the urgency of treatment will be taken into consideration. We are willing to work with you on your balance but communication with our billing department is essential. If you have any questions regarding your bill or wish to set up payment arrangements, contact our billing office 866 371 6118 Ext. 125.

Late Arrivals, Cancellations and No-Shows

Late Arrivals: Please make every effort to arrive in a timely fashion for your scheduled appointment. Patients who arrive late for a scheduled appointment maybe asked to reschedule the appointment or wait for an open appointment time on that day’s scheduled. The physician may decide to work the patient in, but this is at the discretion of the physician.

Cancelations: Parent/guardians should call at least one (1) business day in advance if unable to keep a scheduled appointment time or the practice will consider the patient a “No-Show”.

No-Shows: Patients who do not present for an appointment will be considered a “No-Show”. The parent/guardian may be charged a $25 fee for a missed sick/re-check appointment and $50 for a missed Well exam. This fee cannot be filed to insurance.

No-shows will be documented in the practice management system and a history of no-shows may result in refusal to schedule future appointments. All Starr Pediatrics will notify the parent/guardian via regular mail when this decision is made. Thank you for understanding our financial policy. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.