Insurance & Other Payment Options
It is a common misconception that one must have health insurance in order to
see a family physician. This is not true. We gladly accept cash
paying patients. We also have the capability to accept credit and
debit/ATM cards as payment options, for your convenience.
If you expect to use your insurance to cover your
office visit, please remember to bring a copy of your card/insurance information
with you (or consider faxing it to us in advance of your appointment). Unless
we are able to verify eligibility by the time of the appointment, you will be
responsible for payment at the time of the visit.
Why do we require proof of insurance? We have no choice,
really. Think of it in terms of shopping at a store. When the cashier asks for
payment, you can't say that "I have Visa" and not show them your card.
Without your credit card, you either pay by cash/check or leave empty handed.
Similarly, patients cannot expect us to provide services simply by telling us
that they have coverage with a particular insurance company if they have no
proof of this.
(If you have insurance coverage, but have not yet received
your card, simply provide us with enough information to verify the coverage.
This usually entails obtaining the information from the human resources person
of your company.)
-------------------------
Dr. Pearson participates in three independent physician associations (IPA's)
for contracting with the many insurance company products. Be aware that these
IPA's may occasionally make some changes that might not be reflected here
(please call our office if any questions).
(HMO Products)
NOTE: The following plans are listed on the SCMG
website at www.sharp.com.
-
Aetna Choice
-
Blue Cross CaliforniaCare
-
Blue Shield of California
-
CIGNA
-
Cuyamaca College
-
Health Net
-
Health Net Seniority Plus
-
TriCare/Champus
-
One Health Plan
-
PacifiCare
-
Secure Horizons
-
Private Health Care Systems
-
Sharp Health Plan
-
Universal Care
Greater Tri-Cities IPA Medical Group
(HMO Products)
We have submitted our resignation
from this group effective at the end of October 2005.
We've been fielding numerous questions regarding letters that our Greater Tri-City IPA patients have received in
the mail indicating that they need to select new primary care physicians.
This is only true if you desire to remain with the Greater Tri-City
IPA .
Please
note that we still belong to all of the individual insurance
companies (e.g. Blue Cross/Shield, PacifiCare, etc) so if you'd like to keep Dr.
Giesemann and myself as your primary care physicians, you need only contact the
member services phone # on the back of your insurance cards and ask them
to switch you over to our other IPA (Sharp Community
Medical Group (SCMG). Many insurance companies have done this
automatically for our patients, but not all. If you have any questions about this, please do
not hesitate to contact the aforementioned member services or call our office.
(PPO/Fee for
Service Products)
Please refer to their website at http://northcoastipa.com/contractplans.html.
|
