We work for patients, not insurance companies.
Our Doctors' treatment recommendations are driven purely by modern medical science and your personal goals — never by the bare-minimum coverage policies of insurance companies.
Doctors Practice Medicine;
Health Insurances Practice Cost Control.
San Mateo Podiatry Group’s mission is to deliver state of the art solutions for foot and ankle problems, empowering our clients to become their best selves.
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 your health. Our Doctors’ treatment recommendations are driven purely by modern medical science and your personal goals — never by the bare-minimum coverage policies of insurance companies.
Health insurance plans are important to help pay for some of your healthcare costs, but like all insurance policies, they were never intended to “pay for everything.” Health insurance plans are designed for “standard” care, which is often the bare minimum.
Healthcare First
- We work for our patients. We don’t work for insurance companies.
- We prioritize your results over insurance restrictions.
- The treatments that we recommend are specifically designed for the needs of our unique patients and never based on insurance coverage.
Payment Second
- Our priority is to help patients successfully meet their personal and health goals, while helping them understand and maximize their health insurance benefits.
- San Mateo Podiatry Group is a Fee For Service Practice
- While we are willing to work with all insurance companies, many insurance companies are not willing to work with us.
- We will do everything in our power to maximize whatever benefits your policy has available.
- Please keep in mind that all health insurance plans will have a cost-share with patients
Health is an Investment, Not an Expense
Billing & Payments: To continue to provide excellence in foot and ankle care to our clients, we’ve simplified our financial policy:
- For treatments that are usually covered by health insurance, we ask that all patient responsibility amounts (co-payment, co-insurance, and deductible) be collected and paid at the time of your visit.
- For treatments that are not covered, we ask you to waive your coverage and be responsible for the associated costs.
Seamless Billing Convenience: To continue providing excellence in foot and ankle care, we utilize a Concierge Billing Model to ensure the majority of your time in the office is spent on your recovery, not administration.
For your convenience, 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.
Frequently Asked Questions: Understanding Your Health Insurance
Your health insurance policy is a contract between you and your health insurance company, stating that they will pay for covered medical care as long as your policy is in effect.
The health insurance company may not pay for every bill; you are responsible for paying any medical costs that the health insurance company does not pay for.
Deductible: The cost you must pay for medical treatment before your health insurance company starts to pay, for example, $500 per individual or $1,500 per family. Deductible amounts generally must be met yearly.
Co-Payment or Co-Pay: A fee determined by your health insurance policy that you must pay each time you visit the doctor.
Co-Insurance: A percentage of the total medical bill, in addition to a copayment, that you must pay. Co-insurance is usually expressed as a percentage of the total medical bill, for example 20%.
Non-covered charges: Costs for medical treatment that your health insurance company does not pay. You may wish to determine if your treatment is covered by your health insurance policy before you are billed for these charges by the doctor's office.
Some insurance plans require prior authorization or approval to be obtained before they pay for certain services. The rationale behind these coverage decisions varies from policy to policy.
Two important notes:
1) Prior authorization is never a guarantee of payment or coverage.
2) Just because an insurance company does not cover a service does not mean that it is not medically necessary.
Remember, they are a health insurance company, and not a doctor!
Patients are encouraged to contact their insurance plans for clarification of benefits prior to treatment.