Insurance & Financial Information

Understanding Your Hospital Bill

We want you to understand your hospital bill. Our staff strives to make the payment process as easy as possible.

Many insurance plans require pre-authorization for hospital admissions and certain outpatient procedures and services. The Patient Access Department recommends that you check with your insurance carrier to verify that the visit has been authorized or that pre-certified physician referral has been obtained.

If you have any financial concerns regarding your surgery, test or procedure, please contact a financial counselor at (574) 237-7842 prior to the scheduled date of your care.

You can now manage your hospital account and payments from the convenience of your home computer with the Virtual Business Office.

If services are not covered or if insurance should not be billed, you may be requested to pay for services at the time of registration. Bring your insurance card with you in order to verify coverage and to determine if pre-certification is required for an inpatient admission.

Since the hospital and your physician are separate entities, you may receive separate charges. Please contact these physician offices directly if you have questions concerning their bills.

Insurance Patients

To assist patients in meeting their financial obligations, the hospital will bill health insurance carrier(s), as long as a valid ID card and/or information is presented at the time of registration. Patients should contact their insurance company if payment has not been made in 45 days from date of service.

Patients will be sent monthly statements with the language "This is not a bill" until the insurance is resolved. Then the patient will receive statements and telephone calls as an opportunity to ask questions and make payment.

Potential Medicaid Eligible Patients

The hospital participates in many Medicaid programs to help our patient population. Public assistance may be available through various local, state, and federal programs. We can assist you with this screening process and guide you to the proper public agencies.

For assistance, please contact our Eligibility Assistance Department at the following numbers:

South Bend (574) 237-7411
Plymouth (574) 941-2992

Self-Pay Patients

As a self-pay patient, the hospital has several payment options to assist you.

• All self-pay patients receive a 20% discount if payment in full is made with in 45 days of final billing then an additional 10% discount is granted.
• A six-month interest free payment plan option.
• A fixed-rate financing program is available with First Source Bank for long-term payment arrangements for balances greater than $500.
• Financial assistance to families meeting specific income guidelines. Financial Assistance is an option of last resort, as all other financial opportunities must be exhausted first.

For assistance, please contact our customer service area:

In South Bend (574) 237-7101
In Plymouth (574) 935-2174

Click here for information on patient registration.