Thank you for choosing us to care for your hearing and balance needs. We are committed to your better hearing and resolution of your balance problems. Please understand that in order for us to maintain the highest level of care, payment must be received. Payment is considered part of your service. Due to the personnel resources and time commitment needed to provide the complex services offered, it is imperative that our patients be very faithful in keeping their scheduled appointments. We understand that unforeseen events occur that require last minute cancellations of appointments. However, our small center cannot be expected to bear the financial loss that occurs when this reserved appointment time goes unutilized.
Sometimes offices offer “Free Hearing Tests”. In general, free hearing tests are not really free; instead they are a lure to invite you into their offices so that they may sell you hearing aids. In many cases the evaluation is not complete enough to fit you with
hearing aids and is only finished once you have committed to the purchase. If the test is complete, the cost of the test is wrapped up in the price of the devices you purchase. At Southwest Florida Center for Hearing and Balance we believe that the diagnostic tests we provide are of value in and of themselves whether you decide to follow our rehabilitation recommendations or not. We believe that the doctoral degree our clinicians hold affords our patients accurate, reliable diagnostic data followed by insightful interpretation and honest rehabilitation recommendations. A charge will be assessed for any diagnostic procedure or service we perform.
All patients must complete our information sheet and provide us with updated insurance information if applicable. We will accept assignment of many insurance benefits. However, we do require that any copays or deductibles be paid at the time of service. The balance is your responsibility whether your insurance company pays or not. Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. We are not a party to that contract. We accept cash, checks, VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
MEDICARE (and most insurance companies) will pay for an initial hearing evaluation, a cochlear implant evaluation, mapping or testing, Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) and ECoG (Electrocochleography) once per year and when medically necessary
without a physician referral. Balance testing including Videonystagmography (VNG), Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP) must be medically necessary AND referred by a physician. If your visit meets these criteria, we can expect payment will be made through your insurance company. We will do our best to keep you informed if we expect your visit may not be covered.
Medicare and many insurance companies do not cover a routine hearing exam annually, though your audiologist may recommend you have an evaluation to determine the current status of your hearing and to verify the current settings on your hearing aids are appropriate. In addition, if you are purchasing a hearing aid and an evaluation has not been completed within 6 months, Florida Law requires a new hearing exam to be completed prior to being fitted with new hearing aids. Therefore, if your exam is an annual exam, prescheduled after your hearing aids have been fit, or for the purpose of a new hearing aid fitting, you will be expected to pay at the time of service. The cost for a hearing exam is $125.
Medicare and many insurances also do not cover wax removal by an audiologist nor do they cover treatment for BPPV when performed by an audiologist, even though these things are well within the scope of an audiologist’s practice. As a result if you
proceed with either of these procedures you will incur an out of pocket expenses, $89 for wax removal and $115 for BPPV treatment. Your doctor will advise you before doing any treatment to allow you to choose if you want the service performed.
Not all cochlear implant services are covered by insurances; specifically, troubleshooting and counseling, and instruction on how to use the device or its wireless components. Non reimbursed cochlear implant services will be charged $65 for each 15 minute segment of service (equivalent of $260/hour).
Thank you for understanding our Financial Position and Policy. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.