Billing & Financial Assistance

Make Sure You’re Covered – Contact Your Insurance Company

Before your visit, procedure or stay, contact your insurance to find out what coverage you have and whether you are reaching any coverage limits.

You should also ask if you need “preauthorization” or a referral for the visit or procedure. This means that your insurance plan needs to approve your visit or procedure beforehand. If preauthorization is needed, ask if this has already happened. Even if you get preauthorization, make sure you ask what portion the insurance will pay and what portion you will need to pay.

No matter which insurance coverage you have, we will bill your insurance company for any services or procedures we perform for you. We participate as an “in-network” provider with these insurance plans. If your insurance provider is not on the list, we may be considered out-of-network.

Whether or not your insurance is on the list, we strongly encourage you to contact your insurance company to learn more about coverage for your health care.

Pre-Registration

To protect your privacy and make the check-in process easier, we call scheduled patients a day or two in advance to verify basic information such as your home address, phone number, emergency contacts and insurance.

UVM Medical Center pre-registration phone numbers:

802-847-5769
Toll-Free 800-303-1939

Pre-Admission Coordination

Before you come in for a procedure or hospital stay, a Benefits Advisor will will contact you to verify basic information such as your home address, the name of your employer and the type of insurance you have. We can also help you understand your insurance benefits and establish a payment plan for any part of your care that is not covered by your insurance plan. If you think you will have a hard time making payments, please contact us. We are here to help.

Contact UVM Medical Center pre-admissions:

802-847-6939
Toll-Free 866-631-4215

A Benefits Advisor is available to assist you at 800-PFC-TEAM.

Unless otherwise instructed, please try to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before your appointment to allow time to check in. For procedures, please arrive by the time specified by your doctor’s office.

What to Bring

To make your visit easier, please bring:

• Health insurance card
• Picture identification, such as a driver's license
• Referral and/or authorization forms, if required by your insurance company
• Any physician orders provided by your MD
• Payment method for co-pay, deductible and/or out-of-pocket expense/co-insurance

Paying at Your Visit

Paying at the time of your visit helps us to avoid additional administrative costs, which can be used to continue to offer high quality care.

• Co-payments and deductibles are due in advance of or at the time of service. You may be responsible for additional out-of-pocket expenses based on your insurance benefit coverage.
• Payment for elective services is required before or on the day of service. When payment in full is not possible, a deposit may be required to proceed with the service.
• Not able to pay? We may be able to help. Learn about Financial Assistance programs, or call a Financial Advocate at 802-847-1122.

Learn more about your bill and how to read it here.

We can help put together an estimate of how much your service will cost. Learn more here.

We understand that you may not be able to pay the amount in full. Please contact our Customer Service Department at 802-847-8000 or 800-639-2719 to set up budget payments or discuss other financial assistance options. Without budget arrangements in place, the account may be referred to a collection agency.

The UVM Medical Center has its own internal financial assistance program. It's our private program for our patients who want to pay, but for one reason or another, need help with the bill. Learn more about our Financial Assistance Program.

Sometimes, you need to stay overnight at the hospital because you are recovering from an outpatient procedure. If this is the case, we bill the overnight stay as an outpatient procedure. If you have more questions about this, please contact us.

The UVM Medical Center provides more than just hospital, physician and emergency services. Many doctors in our community send samples to our Laboratory and Pathology Departments for testing and interpretation. If your hometown physician asked for help from a UVM Medical Center physician, you will be billed for the services performed on your behalf. In addition to those services, many of our doctors travel to other facilities to care for patients, so you may receive the services of a UVM Medical Center physician at another facility.

In most cases, you do not pay for preventive care; however, you may need to pay for diagnostic care (meaning there is a sign or symptom of disease). When both preventive and diagnostic care occur during the same visit, you are responsible for the diagnostic services (i.e., co-payment, deductible and/or co-insurance).

The UVM Medical Center does not become involved in any litigation regarding fault. We will bill your personal health insurance for any services you receive, and upon request, we will send a bill to the alleged liable insurance as a courtesy to you. We will also help you establish a budget payment plan that will keep your credit history clean while you pursue liability, with or without an attorney.

Here is a list of insurance plans we contract with. We will bill most insurances on a patient’s behalf; however, we do not participate with all insurance companies or their networks. Please contact your insurance company prior to your visit for details on whether your plan will consider services provided by the UVM Medical Center as in-network. Even if the UVM Medical Center is a participating provider with your insurance, some services (i.e., Rehabilitation Therapies or Mental Health) may not be covered by your plan.