Financial Services & Price Transparency
No one will be denied access to services due to an inability to pay; there is a discounted/sliding fee schedule available based on family size and income.
As a part of our commitment to ensuring access to high quality medical care to all members of our community, Chicot Memorial Medical Center will provide both medically necessary services, and emergency medical care to all patients experiencing an emergency, regardless of their insurance status and ability to pay. No one will be denied access to care based on the inability to pay.
Chicot Memorial Medical Center offers a variety of financial services including Financial Assistance Program and Prompt Pay Discounts. These are just a few options available to provide affordable Healthcare. For assistance or questions feel free to call 870-265-9200.
Financial Assistance Program– The Financial Assistance Program identifies patients who are under or uninsured and who are unable to pay for some or all of their healthcare services due to genuine financial need. Patients who are not eligible for Medicaid or any other funded program and who are unable to pay for services will be considered. Patients or the patient’s guarantor are required to complete an application and provide documentation to qualify for financial assistance. If you have a high deductible you can also apply.
Prompt Pay Discounts– You may qualify for a discount if you pay your bill in full within 45 days from the date of service.
Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills
When you get emergency care or get treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing.
What is “balance billing” (sometimes called “surprise billing”)?
When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as a copayment, coinsurance, and/or a deductible. You may have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network. “Out-of-network” describes providers and facilities that haven’t signed a contract with your health plan. Out-of-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay and the full amount charged for a service. This is called “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward your annual out-of-pocket limit. “Surprise billing” is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can’t control who is involved in your care—like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider.
You are protected from balance billing for:
Emergency services
If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility, the most the provider or facility may bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount (such as copayments and coinsurance). You can’t be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services you may get after you’re in stable condition, unless you give written consent and give up your protections not to be balanced billed for these post-stabilization services.
Certain services at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center
When you get services from an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, certain providers there may be out-of-network. In these cases, the most those providers may bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount. This applies to emergency medicine, anesthesia, pathology, radiology, laboratory, neonatology, assistant surgeon, hospitalist, or intensivist services. These providers can’t balance bill you and may not ask you to give up your protections not to be balance billed.
If you get other services at these in-network facilities, out-of-network providers can’t balance bill you, unless you give written consent and give up your protections.
You’re never required to give up your protections from balance billing. You also aren’t required to get care out-of-network. You can choose a provider or facility in your plan’s network.
When balance billing isn’t allowed, you also have the following protections:
- You are only responsible for paying your share of the cost (like the co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles that you would pay if the provider or facility was in-network). Your health plan will pay out-of-network providers and facilities directly.
- Your health plan generally must:
- Cover emergency services without requiring you to get approval for services in advance (prior
authorization). - Cover emergency services by out-of-network providers.
- Base what you owe the provider or facility (cost-sharing) on what it would pay an in-network
provider or facility and show that amount in your explanation of benefits. - Count any amount you pay for emergency services or out-of-network services toward your
deductible and out-of-pocket limit.
- Cover emergency services without requiring you to get approval for services in advance (prior
If you believe you’ve been wrongly billed, you may contact the Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-985-3059.
Click here for more information about your rights under federal law.