Insurance

Patient financial counselors at Southcoast Health can help determine your eligibility for various health insurance programs and can also assist you with enrollment. Even if you work or have private health insurance, you may be able to get assistance such as:

• Free health care
• Low-cost health care
• Help paying for your health insurance premiums
• Tax credits to help offset the cost of your Health insurance

“Surprise billing” is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can’t control who is involved in your care—like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider.

When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as a copayment, coinsurance, and/or a deductible. You may have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network.

“Out-of-network” describes providers and facilities that haven’t signed a contract with your health plan.
Out-of-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay, and the full amount charged for a service. This is called “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward your annual out-of-pocket limit.

You have the right to be informed if Southcoast Health is participating in your health insurance plan, and Southcoast Health can help you contact your insurer to obtain further information about your potential out-of-pocket costs.

We have provided you with two options for you to better understand the costs of our hospital facility-based services and procedures. Southcoast offers a good faith estimate or an estimator tool for hospital services.

Getting a medical bill from a health care provider or facility can be confusing. Please refer to a no surprise fact sheet on reading your medical bill here.