The Billing Process: What You Need to Know
Thank you for choosing Valley Presbyterian Hospital for your health care
needs. It is our mission to improve the overall health and well-being
of the community we serve.
Before you receive a bill, Valley Presbyterian Hospital will bill your
insurance carrier for services provided in our facility. You may receive
a bill for the following types of services:
- Hospital services – services rendered at our facility
- Professional services – services rendered by physicians or other
health care professionals.
- Services rendered by contracted providers – these may include certain
doctors, ambulance companies, labs and any other service providers that
are separate business entities with their own billing and accounting procedures.
If you receive services provided by contracted providers, such as surgeons,
radiologists, anesthesiologists and pathologists, please be aware that
you will be billed separately by the physician's billing office as they are
not employees or agents of the hospital. If you receive a bill from a contracted
provider and have questions about your charges, it is best to contact
them directly.
You may receive statements in the mail summarizing the services you received
at our facility, but you are not required to make a payment until your
portion of the services are determined and a bill is sent to you. In addition,
you may receive a letter from Valley Presbyterian Hospital if your insurance
company needs more information to process your claim.
If you have any questions regarding statements or bills received, please
contact the
Patient Financial Services Department 818.902.2913. We will be happy to assist in any way possible.
Bills from Contracted Providers
Many doctors, ambulance companies, and labs are separate businesses with
their own billing and account procedures. Contracted providers may or
may not participate in the same health insurance plans or offer the same
financial options as the hospital, including financial assistance. If
you receive a bill from a contracted provider and have questions, please
contact them directly.
After Your Bill Has Been Processed by Your Insurance
You will receive a statement from Valley Presbyterian Hospital showing
the final amount you are responsible for once your insurance company had
responded with its payment or coverage information. Patients who are insured,
but who do not have 100% insurance coverage will be presented with financial
options for paying the remaining balance after insurance payment has been
processed.
Hospital Price Transparency
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) established guidance for hospitals
to make available a list of their standard charges online.
We know that health care can be an unexpected expense and that the cost
of health care services can be a deciding factor for many people as they
plan for care. Valley Presbyterian Hospital (VPH) supports health care
price transparency and tools that help patients and consumers evaluate
what care is best for them and any related financial costs.
Hospital charges can help patients understand what the costs might be
for certain health care services; however, they don’t provide a
full picture of what patients will pay. Patients’ financial liability
will depend on the full course of treatment and on the type of insurance
coverage they have. To help patients understand what their potential financial
liability might be for services they obtain at Valley Presbyterian Hospital,
and to enable patients to compare charges for similar services across
hospitals, we provide a list of standard charges in a machine-readable
format. VPH standard charge information is updated annually. The charges
were last updated January 27, 2020.
VPH encourages all healthcare patients and families to talk with their
providers and health plan to understand what they will pay. We offer financial
counseling for those experiencing hardship during any point throughout
their care. If you have questions, please contact Patient Financial Services at
818.902.2913.
We have created a searchable tool to allow patients to look up anticipated
charges for healthcare services. Please keep in mind, it may not be possible
to know ahead of time which services will be needed to address each patient’s
specific medical needs. The tool provides an estimate of anticipated charges
based on the available information. Please note that this tool works best
using a Chrome browser.
Click here: https://search.hospitalpriceindex.com/hpi2/shoppables/valleypresbyterianhospital/7856or/all
For additional information about understanding pricing for hospital services:
Click here to download in English.
Click here to download in Spanish.
In all cases this does not include the prices for physician/professional
services – this is for hospital services only.
How to Pay Your Hospital Bill
Patients have several payment options, including cash, check or credit
card. Patients may submit their payment by phone, mail or by visiting
us in-person. To submit by phone, call
818.902.2913.
You also may mail payments to our lockbox address:
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
P.O. Box 840417
Los Angeles, CA 90084-0417
You also may visit our facility and submit payment in person; office hours
are Monday-Friday, 8:45 AM to 5:00 PM.