We know how confusing and complicated medical billing can be and we work very hard to not only keep your treatment costs low but to make the billing and insurance process simple to understand. Below are a summary of our financial policies and insurance information.
Financial policies and new patient forms. Financial policies on pages 5 – 7.
Need to Pay Your Bill?
You can pay your bill for Foot & Ankle Center of Washington services here on our patient portal.
Our Goal is to Provide the Most Effective Treatment at the Least Cost
Finding the best solution to your foot problem is always our prime concern, but we always take cost of treatment into consideration so that we can provide you with the best solution at the least cost.
In many cases there are several treatment options available for a particular problem. We will review the advantages, disadvantages and cost of each treatment plan with you so that you can make an informed decision.
In fact, we are well-known with both patients and insurance companies for providing the most effective treatments at the least cost. In addition we never want our patients to be surprised by their medical bills and we will work with you and your insurance to make sure you know the cost of all treatment options.
Credit Card on File is Required if we are Billing Insurance for You
The Foot and Ankle Center of Washington has a credit card on file system. In order to reduce the need for sending out bills and thus allow us to keep medical costs lower, we require a credit or debit card on file with our office if we will be billing insurance for you.
- You will be asked for a credit card at the time you check in and the information will be held securely by an offsite gateway (Elavon).
- When your portion of the bill is determined (following a review of your copay, co-insurance, and deductible) we will charge your card and a copy of the receipt will be emailed to you.
- Your credit card may also be used to process refunds due to you in the event of an over-payment.
- If your insurance company pays us in full then your credit card will not be used.
- We only have to swipe your card once per year.
- You can cancel the contract at any time.
Detailed information on our Credit Card on File program on page 6 of this download.
There are two situations where we will not have to have a credit card on file:
- Patients who are self pay or filing their own insurance claim and pay their visit in full at the time of service
- Patients who have insurance but are willing to pay 100% of all visit charges at the time of service will not have to place a credit card on file. Once insurance has paid their portion any over-payment will be refunded.
Self-pay Discounts are Available
If you do not have insurance we do offer discounts for treatment paid at the time of service. We are able to make these discounts available because of the decreased work for our billing staff when we do not have to bill insurance for you.
Discounts are only available when your bill is paid in full at the time of service. You can see our prices and self-pay discounts here.
Prices Posted Online
We think you should know up front what treatment may cost. We are one of the few clinics of any kind with our prices posted online. You can see our prices and self-pay discounts here.
We Never Charge “Facility Fees”
Many large clinics and hospital owned clinics charge “facility fees” which are essentially a charge to use the treatment room on top of your visit fee. These fees, which are common in Seattle, can range into the hundreds of dollars.
We never charge facility fees and we agree with many experts in the thought that they are one of the main culprits in rising medical costs.
Insurance Information
We are preferred providers on most plans in the Seattle area but it is the patient’s responsibility to contact their insurance to confirm coverage and need for referral. For detailed information on referrals, go to our referrals page.
As a courtesy, we will bill your insurance plan for you, if you would please:
- Bring your insurance card at the time of your visit
- Contact your insurance company to confirm the following:
- What is included in your benefits
- What co-pays or deductibles apply
- Are we a participant in your plan?
- Do you need a new referral or updated referral from your primary care physician?
All patients for whom we will be billing insurance are required to place a credit card on file prior to seeing the doctor.
Which Insurances Do We Accept?
We accept most insurance plans, but not all. Below we review::
- Plans we accept and do not require pre-authorization.
- Plans we accept but do require a referral from your primary doctor plus pre-authorization from your insurance
- Plans we do not accept.
Below is a list of plans in each of these categories (updated February 2021).
Insurances change constantly, so while we do our best to keep this updated, these are not a guarantee of coverage nor can we guarantee this list is complete. Please contact your insurance to confirm coverage.
Plans we accept and which usually do not require pre-authorization (you can choose to see us without a referral or pre-authorization).
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Plans that require pre-authorization
If you have any of the following plans we cannot see you unless you have a referral from your doctor and we have received a pre-authorization from your insurance.
Please contact your primary care doctor to start the referral / pre-authorization process. We cannot schedule your appointment until we have received a pre-authorization from your insurance.
- Aetna HMO
- All Kaiser except Options and Access (we can see Kaiser Access and Kaiser Options patients without a referral).
- Physicians Care Network through Polyclinic
- Tricare
- United Healthcare Medicare Complete through Polyclinic
- US Family Health
- Veterans Administration
Insurances plans we do not accept
We do not accept the following insurance plans. You can still self-pay for treatment and self-pay prices can be found here.
- Ambetter
- Amerigroup
- Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW)
- Coordinated Care
- Northwest PCN (Physicians Care Network)
- Sound Path
- Virginia Mason Network
A special note about Providerone
ProviderOne is not a single insurance carrier. Except in very rare situations, no one has “ProviderOne Insurance”.
ProviderOne is a state program that contracts with several insurance companies. These companies are:
- Ambetter
- Amerigroup
- Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW)
- Coordinated Care
- Molina
- United Health Care Community Plan
If you have ProviderOne, the only ProviderOne insurances we accept are Molina and United Healthcare Community Plan.
If you have any of the other ProviderOne programs you can choose to self-pay.
Orthotic Insurance Information
Custom foot orthotics are a very cost-effective treatment for many foot and lower extremity conditions, and are often covered by insurance plans. Every plan is different – some plans exclude payment for durable medical equipment items such as foot orthotics. If you are a candidate for orthotic therapy you will want to find out if your plan pays for orthotics, pays partially, or does not pay at all.
We have prepared step-by-step questions to ask your insurance to determine how they cover orthotics.
Orthotic Financial and Insurance Information Forms (pdf)
