Billing
Bill calculator
It’s important that you know approximately how much your hospital bill could be for your surgery and other medical procedures.
The information provided on this website is only a best estimate. It is not a guarantee of what you will be charged.
Actual charges will depend upon several factors, such as length of time spent in surgery or recovery; the number of days spent in the hospital; unexpected conditions or complications, etc.
Also, your hospital bill will not include charges by physicians who are involved in your care. They will bill you separately.
Bill Calculator
Bills for medical services
Typically, if you have medical insurance or Medicare, you will receive a bill from the hospital within 45 to 60 days of your visit. Your hospital bill will reflect whatever your insurance does not pay. If you have no insurance, you can expect to receive a bill about 15 days after your visit.
After your insurance company has reviewed your bill and paid for, or denied, its portion, we will bill you for your part of the bill. Most insurance companies require patients to pay part of their hospital bills.
View your bill online.
Questions about your health insurance:
Please contact your insurance company with questions about your insurance.
Questions about your hospital bill:
Call 253-396-6700. If you cannot afford to pay your hospital bill, please ask for information about financial assistance.
Questions about bills from other providers:
You may receive separate bills from each physician involved in your care, including your regular doctor, your surgeon, assistant surgeon, anesthetist or anesthesiologist (if you have surgery), and other specialists. Your hospital bill does not include these charges nor does the hospital submit the insurance claims for their payment. Please contact the physician’s or specialist’s office directly with any questions you have about physician charges.
Financial assistance for those unable to pay the full cost of care
St. Elizabeth Hospital is a part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a nonprofit health organization with a longstanding commitment to assist those who seek our care, regardless of ability to pay.
If you are unable to pay for all or part of the care you receive from our hospital, you may be eligible for free or discounted services. Please read the information below to understand:
- How eligibility for financial assistance is determined
- How to apply for financial assistance
This information is a summary of the national CHI policy. Please click here to read the policy in full.
PLEASE NOTE: Any patient seeking emergency care will be treated without regard to ability to pay.
How eligibility for financial assistance is determined
To determine your eligibility for financial assistance, we consider:
The medical necessity of services received. In short, medically necessary services save your life, make you well, or prevent a medical condition from becoming worse. There is a detailed definition of medically necessary services in the CHI policy.
Medical necessity will be determined by a physician. In determining medical necessity, we follow all requirements of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and applicable laws and regulations.
Your ability to pay for the services. We look at income, family size, available resources and expected future income (minus living expenses).
- Your family income is low. Free care may be available to patients with family income less than or equal to 130 percent of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)very low income guidelines for the area; and/or
- You are considered medically indigent. This means that paying the full cost of your medical care, after any health insurance payment, would cause you to become impoverished. This could apply if you are uninsured, underinsured, or suffer a catastrophic illness.
How to apply for financial assistance
When you are registered as a patient, we will ask about your coverage for health care services. If you don’t have coverage or it is not likely to be sufficient, we will either give you a packet of information that covers our financial assistance policy or offer the immediate assistance of a financial counselor, who will go over the financial assistance application with you.
You will need to complete the Financial Assistance Application form, provide all information it requests, and submit it to us.
If it is determined you are eligible for assistance, we will notify you and let you know how much assistance is available. If it is determined you are not eligible for assistance, we will let you know that in writing and give a brief explanation of the reason.
It’s important to note that if you do not have insurance, you will not be charged more for services than the amount generally billed to those who have insurance.
Financial Assistance Cover Letter
Financial Assistance Application Form
Questions? Call 253-396-6700
Medical insurance
Many insurance companies require that you pre-certify for certain medical procedures. Check your policy or contact your insurance provider to ensure that physician and hospital services are properly authorized.
As stated in your contract with your insurance company, your co-pay and/or deductible is your responsibility and will be collected by St. Elizabeth Hospital at the time of service. If you are unsure of your co-pay and/or deductible responsibility, contact your insurance provider at the (800) number provided on your insurance card.
Self-pay patient discount
In order to ensure community-wide access to its services, St. Elizabeth Hospital and the Franciscan Health System provide the same average price discount to self-pay patients as given to commercial insurance companies.
Currently, self-pay patients receive a 60 percent discount on bills for our hospital services. Payment or satisfactory arrangements must be made within 60 days. “Self-pay” refers to patients who have the ability to pay for hospital services but lack medical insurance and do not qualify for financial assistance.
The self-pay discount does not apply to established prices for self-pay services that are not covered by insurance. Also, this discount does not apply to co-pays or deductibles for patients with medical insurance.
For more information about our Self-Pay Patient Discount, please contact our Patient Accounts representative at 253-396-6700.
