Billing & Insurance

Insurance & Billing

• Financial Responsibility of the Patient

  A patient’s financial responsibility ─ their share of charges ─ will vary, depending on insurance coverage and plan specifications or payment plan negotiated. For any scheduled service, UTMB Health requires a deposit and payment arrangements to be made prior to service for any amount not covered by insurance, including deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance.

  • If you have health insurance, please contact your health plan to understand your coverage, deductibles and related financial obligations. See the list of Insurance plans we accept at UTMB Health.
  • If you do not have health insurance, UTMB Health will provide information related to the hospital's financial assistance policy, and discounts that can be applied.

  If you do not provide us with insurance information or you do not have active insurance coverage, payment for all services is your responsibility. You will receive an estimate of cost prior to your services.

  If you are unable to make a deposit prior to service or if you arrive for your service and cannot make the required payment, your visit may be rescheduled for a time when you will be able to make the payment.

  It is important for patients to understand the costs of their health care before deciding on services. Calculating all costs beforehand can be a confusing process. UTMB’s Patient Financial Policy helps explain this process. The following information is provided by UTMB to help answer questions you may have related to your visit.

  Other financial questions and estimates for services are available on the Request an Estimate page.

• Determining Your Estimated Costs

  We will make every attempt to review your estimated financial responsibility with you prior to your scheduled service. You may receive a call, email or MyChart message to explain the estimated amount you may owe for your upcoming service.

  Final charges may be different from the costs discussed during the phone call if the actual treatment is modified at the time of service.

  Request an Estimate

• Services Not Covered by Insurance

  Some services are not covered by insurance companies. (For example, if you have an out-of-network plan or if your service does not meet Medicare’s medical necessity guidelines.) If you have active health insurance that does not cover your upcoming service, you have the following options available to you:

  1. Cancel the treatment and reschedule with a provider in your network.
  2. Reschedule for a similar treatment that may be covered by your insurance.
  3. Pay your estimated portion of the charges and receive the service. This means you will be responsible for the entire cost if your insurance does not pay the bill.

• Insurance Pre-Authorization

  Your insurance may require approval for certain services before you receive them to determine how much they will pay. Staff from our department will work to verify your insurance and obtain approval for your scheduled services.

  If pre-authorization has not been given prior to your service, we may need to reschedule your treatment. This will allow time for us to get pre-authorization. Without pre-authorization from your insurance, you will be responsible for the total cost.

• Financial Assistance

  At UTMB, we believe that everyone should have access to the very best health care possible. We also understand that it’s not always easy to pay for that care.

  Please visit our Financial Assistance page to learn more about options available to you.