Credit Card on File Policy

 

UME Health is committed to improving and making our billing process as simple as possible.  Starting 7 November 2021, we now require that you provide a credit card on file.  We store your credit card details in a PCIDSS compliant vault with our provider Stripe.  Once you have input your credit card details, they will be stored in Stripe’s secure vault for future transactions.  Office personnel will not have access to your card.  For your protection, credit card details are maintained by Stripe and for your protection, UME Health will only have a token which can only be utilized on the secure Stripe portal.

 

Credit Cards on File will be used to pay account balances after insurance adjudication. Once your insurance has processed your claims, they will send a notification to both you and our office showing what your total patient responsibility is. You typically receive notice before we do, so if you disagree with the patient responsibility amount owed, it is your responsibility to contact your insurance carrier immediately.

 

Notes:

• During the time you leave a credit card on file, if it expires or otherwise becomes uncollectable, we will expect you to promptly provide a new means of payment. 

• Credits on your account after your insurance claim has been adjusted will be returned to the credit card on file. 
• Before taking any payment from your credit card we will contact you and inform you of the information received from the private medical insurance and what the excess is that you will need to pay as excess.

• Ultimately, you are responsible for knowing what services are covered, how often, and how much of the cost is your responsibility. You will be responsible for any portion of services that your insurance does not cover. 
• To avoid any issues of discrimination or favouritism; all patients will be required to have a credit card on file regardless of insurance or visit type

 

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Credit Card on File Policy

 

Do I have to leave my credit card information to be a patient at this practice? 

Yes. This is our policy and it is a growing trend in the healthcare industry. Insurance reimbursements are declining and there has been a large increase in patient excess payments. These factors are driving offices to either squeeze more patients into shorter periods of time or to stop accepting insurance. We have decided to focus on becoming more efficient in our billing and collections processes instead. 

 

How much and when will money be taken from my account? 

The insurance companies on average take approximately 4 weeks to process submitted claims. Once the notice is received and posted to your account, you will be sent a statement showing your portion. You will have 7 days to send an alternative form of payment if you prefer. If no alternative payment is received, your patient financial responsibility will be processed against your stored credit card. 

 

How do you safeguard the credit information you keep on file? 

We make use of a secure credit card vault controlled by the financial institution Stripe.  Stripe have designed the credit card vault to be fully compliant with PCI DSS regulations.  Through Stripe, credit card details will be kept secured and no member of staff will have access to your credit card details.  Rather than having your credit card details, UME Health will only have access to a token representing your credit card details. In order to be able to process payments on your excess payments due on your PMI plan, authorised personnel will have to access a secure portal to be able to proceed with the payment.

 

What are the benefits? 

It saves you time and eliminates the need to log onto a separate portal or call into the office to make payment. It also drives our administrative costs down because our staff sends out fewer statements and spends less time taking credit card information over the phone, which are less secure methods than us storing the information. 

 

Why do I have to do this? 

The entire billing process is time consuming and wasteful, and the few patients that we do have to send to a collection agency end up costing a lot of money. Reducing unnecessary costs are essential to allowing us to continue to be a provider putting your needs at the core of what we do. Nothing is changing about how much you end up paying. 

 

What if there is a payment discrepancy or I have other payment questions? 

Please contact our finance department directly to settle payment discrepancies or for other payment questions. This policy in no way compromises your ability to dispute a charge or questions your insurance company’s explanation of benefits. 

 

Will I still receive a paper bill by mail? 

Yes. You will receive one bill which will show what will be charged to your card in 30 days. If you prefer to pay by an alternative method, you may do so during that period. If you do not wish to make any payment method changes, just hold onto the statement for your records and your card will be charged.