Insurance & Financing hearing aids Savannah GA in Pooler

I want you to be able to say "Hey! That's My Hearing Aid Place !" www.myhearingaidplace.com  COSTCO hearing aid center  Coastal ENT Hearing Center AUdiology and hearing aids Savannah We aren't Beltone Miracle Ear, Connect Hearing Elite Hearing Center or Sam's Hearing Center 

Audiology and Hearing Services.  Coastal Hearing. Coastal ENT Coastal Hearing Center hearing loss and dementia hearing aids pooler ga cognitive decline Savannah

We are an insurance friendly practice!

​Our Mission: Coastal Audiology is dedicated to offering families improved quality of life through  comprehensive and individualized hearing healthcare. 

912-748-9494 Phone

hello@coastalaudiology.com

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Unbundled & Itemized Options

Please note, we are out of network with CIGNA, Humana, Wellcare, AmeriGroup, and Anthem/BCBS.  We can often bill on your behalf but those covered under these payers will be required to pay for services and supplies in advance and then be reimbursed by their insurance company. Please note reimbursement will not be what you pay but will be the out-of-network contracted rate as set forth by the insurance company per your contract, which is out of our control. We accept limited Medicaid plans.

Sadly, not all insurance is friendly to our office. At Coastal Audiology, our priority is patient care and best practices. We will work with you to maximize any benefits you may have with your insurance company. However, our priority is patient care and what's best for you as the patient. Which means that what is needed or best for you are your unique situation may not be covered in part or at all by your insurance company. It doesn't mean you don't need it; it means your insurance company may not pay for it. 

Hearing aids are typically not covered by most insurance companies, including Medicare.  Some insurance companies may have a discount plan and/or small benefit, but rarely are hearing aids covered in full by an insurance company. This leaves the financial burden on the patient. We at Coastal Audiology feel like it is worth it, as we have seen the amazing ways hearing aids have improved people's lives, so we try to make it a little easier. Please note, we are IN network with several popular commercial insurance companies and have chosen to work with a small number of third party payers larger insurance companies have farmed their hearing aid benefits out to. We are typically able to offer our services to individuals who obtain their hearing aids elsewhere. These can be purchased at the time of the visit or annual plans like our HearWell plan. (see tab above under Insurance and Financing) 

Insurance plans we are currently in-network:
-Aetna
-United Healthcare (UHC)
-Tricare
-Medicare
-St. Joseph's Candler/The Care Network

​-First Health/HealthGram

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In addition to our full-service purchase plans, Coastal Audiology is pleased to offer an unbundled/itemized option when purchasing hearing aids. While a bundled/all-inclusive option has been an industry norm, it isn't always the best option for those making an investment in hearing aids.

With our unbundled/itemized option, patients will pay for

• their hearing aid(s),
  
• shipping & handling,
  
• earmolds (when applicable),
  
• our normal fitting fee for the professional time component of setting up the hearing devices for use. (This fitting fee will also include two 30-minute hearing aid checks within 45-days of the initial fitting. Subsequent visits will be billed at $46/quarter hour.)
  
• All supplies, visits, and services will be billed at usual and customary charges.
  

 Our unbundled/itemized option may be best for the following individuals:

• Those who spend part of the year locally and part of the year elsewhere,
  
• Those who are previous hearing-aid wearers who need minimal follow-up care, and
  
• Those who are price-sensitive and prefer to pay for services and supplies as they need them.
  

All fees for diagnostic testing are separate from the hearing aid purchase.  For complete details, please contact us.

We are pleased to offer our HearWell Program. HearWell is an annual subscription based plan that covers your professional service fees and more. Please click the HearWell tab at the top of the page for more information. 

Ask your physician for a referral to our office!

Helpful Information About Making an Appointment at Coastal Audiology and Hearing Aid Center:

If we will be billing your insurance for your diagnostic testing, we will need an order/referral from your primary care, internal medicine, or ENT physician.  . We are unable to request this for you due to current Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements, as they see this as soliciting services and this is prohibited by CMS. Simply put,

1. When you call our office to make an appointment, we will ask you who your physician is. We will ask you to contact their office and request they send us, via fax or mail, orders to "evaluate and treat" on their letterhead or on one of their prescription pads.  We will need to have he order/referral in our office at the time of your appointment. Unfortunately, if we do not, we are unable to bill your insurance and you will be responsible for all charges incurred that day.


2. Once the order referral is received, a copy will be maintained in your chart. At your arrival for your appointment, we will ask for your insurance card so we can make a copy, along with a picture I.D. If you do not have an insurance card at the time of your appointment and we are unable to obtain a legible copy from another physician prior to you being seen, you will be responsible for any charges incurred at the visit. At the conclusion of your visit, you will be required to pay your co-pay/cost-share, co-insurance. Please note-we cannot bill for co-pays, co-insurance, and cost-shares. They must be paid the day of the visit. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, cash, check, and check card/debit. We also offer financing through CareCredit for those that qualify. 


3. We will bill your insurance and await payment for our services from your insurance company. If payment is not received within 60 days from your insurance company, you will be responsible for the balance due.  We will send you a statement/invoice if this is necessary. We are happy to bill insurance and await payment for those insurance carriers with whom we are in network. Ultimately, payment of your bill is patient responsibility. If we are having trouble billing your insurance company we may ask you to intervene. However, ultimately payment for services rendered is the patient's responsibility. 

Routine versus Medical Examinations 

​Most Health Insurance companies divide hearing examinations into two categories, routine or medical. What becomes problematic is the fact that the code used to bill the exam is exactly the same. Therefore, the test is often covered or not covered based off the intent of the examination.

1. ROUTINE EAR EXAMINATION

This is a complete ear examination which is typically covered once every 1, depending on the insurance. The purpose of this examination is to establish that the ears and auditory system are healthy, and a  hearing aid prescription may be determined. "Fitting Fees"  are often considered separate services and have separate charges. In "routine" examinations, there is usually no other auditory diagnosis or problem except those relating to a hearing aid prescription.  Hearing Plans and some Medical Insurance Plans offer coverage for Routine Ear Examinations. It is the patient's responsibility to know their specific benefits. Note that Medicare does not cover "routine" ear/hearing examinations, but in many cases a medical diagnosis can be used (see below).

2. MEDICAL EAR EXAMINATION

A "Medical Ear Examination" is performed when there is either a medical diagnosis of the ears or auditory system themselves (such as sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness etc.), or there is an overall medical diagnosis which might affect the ears (such diabetes, hypertension, etc.). Furthermore, an ear examination can be considered "medical" if it is in follow-up of a previously diagnosed condition. Medical Ear Examinations may require a written insurance authorization from a "gate keeper" medical physician prior to the ear examination. A hearing aid prescription may be obtained during this examination as well.

Non-Covered Services

Health insurance is meant to supplement the cost of healthcare and rarely covers the cost of services at 100%. In Audiology, we know certain things are not covered--office visits and cerumen (earwax) removal being two of the more common ones. If you are scheduled for an appointment where one of these typically-noncovered services are necessary or requested, you may be asked to pay for services first and be reimbursed by your insurance company directly. You may be asked to sign a Notice of Non-Covered Services or, for patients with Medicare, an Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN). 

​The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was enacted on December 27, 2020. Effective January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act went into effect. This act can help protect consumers from unwanted and surprise medical bills. We make every effort to notify our patients about possible charges not covered under an insurance plan or service plan. We give patients the option to not have certain services that may not be covered. However, some services are necessary and required for us to do our job or the service requested. If you opt to not have the services required, we may refer you to another provider that may treat you on your conditions. You may find more information about the No Surprises Act here: ​ https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/Ending-Surprise-Medical-Bills

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ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Fees for diagnostic testing are separate from hearing instrument purchases. We will gladly bill your insurance for diagnostic testing if we are a provider and if we have the appropriate documentation before the conclusion of your appointment.

We are often asked why large chain retailers give "free" hearing tests and why we charge for our services. Simply put, we are Audiologists, the professional recognized by the medical community to evaluate and treat hearing loss, which includes the testing of hearing and the fitting of hearing aids. Many large chains do not employ Audiologists, therefore, they are unable to bill insurance companies for diagnostic testing.

If you are a new patient, please have all the necessary forms completed before your upcoming appointment.  We can also send you a link to complete your paperwork online or a link to print them and complete paper copies at home prior to your visit. You will need to bring a picture ID and your insurance card(s) with you to your appointment and all co-payments or co-insurance fees are due at the time of service.

Please note, any prior unpaid balances will be due before being seen by the doctor.

Please verify with your insurance company that we are in your network before your appointment. Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance provider; therefore, we do not guarantee that we are participating in your network.

We ask that you arrive twenty (20) minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time to review and make sure that we have all of your paperwork completed.

Please do not bring any children, other than the patient, to the scheduled appointment so that we may give that person our full attention. The individual being tested will be in our sound booth and will be asked to respond to very soft beeps and speech. It is not feasible to obtain accurate results with children present, unless of course the child is the one being tested. When possible, we ask that you find someone bring a trusted adult with you that can sit with the child(ren) in the waiting room while testing is being conducted. 

Each patient’s time is valuable and we strive to keep our schedule running on time. Due to this, we will reschedule your appointment if you are fifteen (15) minutes or more late.

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible by calling (912) 748-9494.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you!

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