EVERY CLIENT HAS A RIGHT TO:
- Receive high quality care based on professional standards of practice, regardless of his or her (or his or her family’s) ability to pay for such services.
- Obtain services without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, age, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or preference, marital status, socioeconomic status or diagnosis/condition.
- Be treated with courtesy, consideration and respect by all TCC staff, at all times and under all circumstances, and in a manner that respects his or her dignity and privacy.
- Be informed of the TCC Privacy Policies and Procedures, as the policies relate to individually identifiable health information.
- Expect that the TCC staff will keep all medical records confidential and will release such information only with his or her written authorization, in response to court order subpoenas, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
POLICY:
- It is the policy of The Counseling Center to establish and maintain billing procedures for services rendered.
PROCEDURE:
- All existing contracts are billed according to the contract terms.
- Usual, Customary, and Reasonable (UCR) rates are established for all services, and are used for billing clients, regardless of payer source.
- All UCR rates are reviewed (and modified when necessary) on an annual basis, prior to the start of the fiscal year, by the CFO, CEO, and assigned finance staff. All UCR rates are approved by the Board of Directors.
- Payer sources for each client are determined at intake and modified throughout the year as necessary.
- The organization may establish a “charitable services” fund to provide for reduced charges for patients without a payer source and with an inability to pay. A sliding fee scale based on federal poverty rates will be used to determine the amount of the fee to be paid by the patient, with the balance of the UCR rate charged to the charitable services fund. Patients must show proof of need in order to qualify for this scale.
- All patients shall receive disclosure of all fees for which they will be responsible.
