Q: When should I expect to receive a bill?

A: Generally, claims are submitted to the insurance carriers daily and processed by the insurance carrier within 30 to 60 days. After the insurance carrier processes the claim, a statement for any guarantor responsibility will then be billed to you. If your insurance carrier requires additional information or denies the initial claim, an appeal process may delay your billing an additional two to four months.

Q: How will I be notified of my bill?

A: New MyOchsner patients are automatically enrolled into paperless billing. You will be notified of new bills through email and the MyOchsner mobile app. Make sure your email and phone number are up to date, so that you will get the MyOchsner notifications about your bill.

To opt out of paperless billing:

1. Login to your MyOchsner account
2. From your menu, go to the billing summary page
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen below the account boxes. You will see this statement: “If you would like to receive paper statements, you may cancel paperless billing.”
4. Click/tap “cancel paperless billing” and confirm your selection

For questions or concerns, call Ochsner's Patient Account Customer Service Department Monday - Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

• Phone: 504-842-4190
• Toll Free: 1-800-343-0269
• To contact us by email: billing@ochsner.org

Q: How do I know if Ochsner Health contracts with my health plan?

A: To receive full insurance benefits, some insurance companies require patients to receive services with "in-network" or "participating provider" hospitals and physicians. Some insurance requires that certain services be authorized or pre-certified before the patient receives them. Call your insurance company to check its requirements and to make sure Ochsner Health is in the network.

Q: What if my insurance company has no contractual agreement with Ochsner Health?

A: If you are a customer of a private insurance company that does not have a contractual agreement with Ochsner Health, you can still receive treatment at Ochsner. However, you will be financially responsible for the total charges and may be asked to make a deposit before receiving medical services at Ochsner. It is your responsibility to know what your insurance will and will not cover.

A: Due to the federal privacy rules, we are only allowed to discuss account information with the guarantor or the patient.

A: To ensure timely processing of your claim, Ochsner Health follows up with your insurance company; however, it is recommended that patients periodically contact their insurance company on the status of the services that have been billed to them. By contacting your insurance company, it will help ensure your claims will be paid promptly and accurately.

A: Ochsner Health tries to send all the necessary information to insurance companies; however, they sometimes need more information from you to process a claim. This may include information about coordination of benefits, student verification, accident or third party verification, pre-existing condition or primary explanation of benefits (if claim was submitted to a secondary insurance). You should receive an explanation of benefits from your insurance company asking for this information. Please respond to have the claim processed correctly. If the requested information is not submitted to your insurance company in a timely manner, you will be responsible for the outstanding charges and will receive a statement from Ochsner.

A: Certain physicians help with your medical care even though you may not meet them. Commonly, these are the doctors who read your lab results, x-rays and EKGs, among others.

A: Ochsner's Patient Account Customer Service Department hours are Monday - Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you have any questions about the service on your Ochsner Health statements or need additional assistance, please contact us at 504-842-4190 or Toll Free at 1-800-343-0269.

A: Total payment is expected for the patient's portion of the bill at the time of service or discharge. We accept cash, checks, money orders and all major credit cards. If you are unable to pay the full balance, you may qualify for a monthly payment plan based on an approved schedule. You may contact customer service at 504-842-4190 or Toll Free at 1-800-343-0269 to speak with a representative.

A: If you have insurance coverage, your insurance company will send both Ochsner Health and you an explanation of benefits (EOB) that details the amount it has paid, any non-covered or denied amounts, and the remaining balance that you are responsible for paying. You may receive your EOB before Ochsner does. Review your EOB carefully, compare it to your Ochsner Health statement and call your insurance company or Ochsner's Customer Service department if you have any questions or concerns.

A: Statements are issued monthly. You will receive a statement every month until all payments are made, either by the insurance company or the guarantor.

A: Ochsner Health accepts cash, personal checks, debit cards, money orders, or credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express). We will charge your credit card only for the amount you authorize.

A: Send your payment along with your statement stub to the billing address on your statement. You can also make payments with the information provided on your statement via quick pay. Please allow 72 hours for payment to be posted to your account when you pay online. For more bill payment options, visit our Pay Your Bill page.

A: You can update your information by sending us an email using this link: billing@ochsner.org. You can also contact our Customer Service department at 504-842-4190 or Toll Free at 1-800-343-0269 and provide the information.

A: We post your payment to the oldest charges or oldest account first.

A: Yes, we normally can bill worker's compensation, but we need the following information: your social security number, the name of your employer, the date of injury, your worker's compensation claim number, and the name and address of the worker's compensation carrier.

A: If the account was overpaid and after a thorough review it was determined that the amount belongs to you, you will receive a refund.

A: Payment is due at or before the time of service. Any remaining balance that you could be responsible for is due by the specified due date on your statement. Payments received after this date will not appear on your next statement and are considered past due.

A: You may receive a statement for physician services and hospital services depending on where the procedure was performed.

A: There are many reasons why claims are not paid or not paid entirely and could be as follows: your insurance may need additional information from you; charges may have been applied to your deductible; you are responsible for co-pays or co-insurance; charges could have been non-covered services; insurance coverage not in effect at time of services; and many more. Your insurance company should have sent you an explanation of benefits (EOB) that explains why the charges were not paid. You will need to contact your insurance company and discuss with them as to why the charges were not paid or rejected.

A: Yes, we will bill your insurance company. If you did not provide this information at the time of your visit, please submit an email to billing@ochsner.org with the following information found on your insurance card: your insurance company's name and address; your policy and group numbers; and the policyholder's name, date of birth and employer.

A: If you provided us your secondary insurance information, we will send a claim to the insurance company. However, you will be responsible for sending a copy of the explanation of benefits (EOB) from your primary insurance company to your secondary insurance company. Your secondary insurance company will not process the claim until a copy of the explanation of benefits is received.

A: You can request a complete itemization of hospital services by calling patient account customer services at 504-842-4190 or Toll Free at 800-343-0269.

A: Yes, Medicare has a comprehensive web site. Go to http://www.medicare.gov for more information on Medicare.

A: Medicare does not pay for any procedure it considers routine or preventive. You will be required to pay for these services.

A: An Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) is a written notice that you may receive from physicians, providers or suppliers, before they furnish a service or item to you, notifying you: (A) That Medicare will probably deny payment for that specific service or item in your case. (B) The reason the physician, provider or supplier expects Medicare to deny payment. (C) That you will be personally and fully responsible for payment if Medicare denies payment. An ABN also gives you the opportunity to refuse to receive the service or item.

A: A single visit to a physician may result in two charges: one for the preventive or routine component, and one for the problem-oriented component.

A: Uninsured patients are required to deposit the estimated cost of scheduled services in advance. Additional deposits will be required if additional testing, physician consultations or hospital admissions are necessary. Please note if the deposit results in a credit for the current service, amounts will be applied to open balances. ANy credits above that will be refunded. You can contact our central pricing office at 504-703-2773 or 855-241-9351 to obtain a quote for services.

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