TLDR:
Doctors Practice Medicine;
Health Insurance Practices Cost Control.
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1. Good Medicine Creates Lasting, Mutual Value
- We work for Patients, not Insurance companies. Your treatment plans are driven purely by modern medical science, research-proven outcomes, and your personal lifestyle goals—never by the bare-minimum, cheapest standard of care of an insurance company.
- Modern Medicine, Not Minimum Coverage: Health insurance companies are not Board-Certified Doctors; they cannot practice medicine, and their policy coverage and payment decisions are based on minimizing cost rather than what is best for your health.
- Mutual Value: We believe that good medicine creates lasting, mutual value. By prioritizing your long-term mobility and clinical results, we build a high-integrity partnership that values your health and your valuable time above all else.
2. San Mateo Podiatry Group is a Concierge, Fee-for-Service Practice
We focus on your health goals, and how meeting those goals helps you become your best self. To protect your health decisions and ensure complete clarity before treatment, we maintain a transparent, advocate-driven billing standard:
- Transparent, Upfront Estimates: Health insurance coverage, benefits, and cost-shares can be confusing—we make them clear. When you come in, and before any treatments are charged, we provide you with a complimentary benefits check so you understand your exact out-of-pocket costs.
- Our Role as Your Advocate: We act as your advocate to prevent insurance companies from guiding you toward the cheapest treatments simply to protect their bottom line.
- Insurance fine print often misleads patients into believing everything is fully covered, or creates so much confusion and fear of hidden costs that people put off necessary care.
- We cut through that noise to give you honest, transparent answers—ensuring you keep control of your health decisions so third-party red tape never stops you from getting the care you deserve.
- Insurance fine print often misleads patients into believing everything is fully covered, or creates so much confusion and fear of hidden costs that people put off necessary care.
- Maximum Benefit Recovery: We do everything in our power to maximize whatever benefits your policy has available, filing all eligible claims on your behalf to help you recover the healthcare service benefits you are contractually owed. We are experts at healthcare billing, and we wont waste your time or ours engaging in pointless appeals or resubmissions.
- The Cost-Share Reality: Please keep in mind that all health insurance plans carry a cost-share with patients. Even for covered services, you are contractually responsible for your copayments, coinsurances, and annual deductibles.
- While we are willing to work with all insurance companies, many insurance companies are not willing to work with us. Insurers limit the doctors on their panels to restrict care utilization and contain costs. We choose to remain independent so we can prioritize your long-term health over insurance company restrictions.
3. Simplified Billing & Payments Policy
To continue providing excellence in foot and ankle care, we have simplified our financial policy to eliminate surprise bills and prioritize your recovery:
- For Covered Treatments: For treatments that are usually covered by health insurance, we ask that all patient responsibility amounts (such as insurance-mandated co-payments, co-insurance, and annual deductibles) be collected and paid at the time of your visit.
- For Non-Covered Treatments: For advanced therapies that plans exclude, we ask you to sign a standard waiver and take responsibility for the associated investment, ensuring your care is never compromised.
4. Seamless Convenience: Our Streamlined Billing Model
To ensure the majority of your time in our office is spent on your recovery—not on administrative paperwork—we utilize a specialized, automated payment process:
- We keep credit cards securely on file. We automatically process cost-share charges like insurance-mandated copayments, coinsurances, and deductible amounts at the time of your visit.
- Your appointments remain a clinical sanctuary. You walk straight from your treatment back to your day, leaving the checkout lines and the insurance bureaucracy behind, with all receipts sent directly to your email.
An Investment In Your Health: Your Greatest Asset
At the end of the day, your health is an investment into your greatest asset, not an expense. Take the next step; contact us to schedule your specialist consultation today.