Treatment of Minors

Patients who are less than 18 years of age will require consent for treatment by a parent or other legal guardian.  If a parent or legal guardian does not accompany the patient to the visit, the parent or legal guardian may write a note and fax it to the clinic prior to the patient being seen. 

According to Colorado State Law, patients who are less than 18 years of age and who are emancipated and living on their own do not need a parental consent.  Patients who are less than 18 years of age and are being seen for a sexual-related matter also do not need a parental consent.

Prescription Refills

As an urgent care facility, our clinic does not offer prescription refills over the telephone.  If you need more of the medication one of our physicians prescribed, you will need to be seen by us again.  The best thing to do for a prescription refill is to call your primary care provider, who may or may not offer a prescription refill over the telephone.

If you are unable to see your private physician to get a refill of one of your long-term medications - such as blood pressure medicine, asthma medication, etc. - we may be able to assist you by giving you a refill for a short period of time.  This requires a complete evaluation by our medical staff, which will then refer you back to your primary physician.

Your private physician best handles prescription refills for medications considered “controlled substances” by the U.S. Government - such as pain medications and anti-anxiety medications.  Because of the nature of these medications, our medical staff will sometimes be unable to refill your prescriptions at all.  If they are able to do so, they will often want to contact your primary care physician and have you fill out other paperwork related to these medications, and the refill will be for an extremely limited period.

After-Hours Care

For after-hours emergency attention, please call your primary care provider.  They will page the physician on call – who will contact you directly.  Routine questions about mild illnesses, prescription refills and appointments should be directed to your primary care provider during normal business hours.  If you do not have a primary care provider and you have an emergency or urgent medical condition when our facilities are closed, you should contact the local emergency department or call 911.

Return Visits for Same Problem

Sometimes medical problems are such that a patient has to be seen on more than one occasion for treatment.  A patient may have a procedure performed, which requires a return visit, or the physician may want to re-evaluate an ongoing problem.  According to most all insurance plans, patients are required to pay a copay for each patient visit and each provider evaluation.  We appreciate your understanding.  If you have a primary care provider and would like to have a re-evaluation by this provider, we will make every effort to help you make an appointment with this provider. 

Payment and Billing Policy

Rocky Mountain Urgent Care accepts most commercial insurance plans.  When you present for services and have insurance, you will be responsible for your Urgent Care co-pay.  If Urgent Care co-pay is not listed on your card, our policy is to collect a $50 payment to be used towards any co-pays, coinsurances, or deductibles you may have.  We then bill your insurance for the visit, and if there are any charges not covered by your insurance, these become your responsibility and you will receive a statement for those charges. 

If, after the insurance company processes the claim, it is found that the $50 payment was an overcharge, we will issue an immediate credit to your account, and a refund if requested. 

Payment and Billing Policy
Continued

We encourage all of our patients to contact their insurance company prior to treatment to make sure that the visit will be covered at our facility.  Although we participate with many insurance plans, some insurers may prefer that the patient be seen at another facility.  It is the patient’s responsibility to know his or her own insurance benefits. 

 Traditionally, the minimum charge for an initial visit has been $322.00.  During the visit, further tests or procedures could be required and these would be at additional charges. 

RMUC charges two different types of fees:  a facility fee and the fees for the professional services received.  Our professional provider fees vary based on which services are performed.  Our facility fee charge is $160.  We charge a facility fee because our services are available 365 days a year; because we offer extended hours (to 8 p.m. at most of our facilities and to 10 p.m. at some of our facilities); because patients are seen without an appointment; and because we must provide the staffing and equipment to accommodate a higher level of care than what is provided at a primary care provider’s office. 

The facility fee is customarily charged by hospital emergency departments and urgent care facilities. 
The facility fee is covered by many commercial health insurers.  However, not all insurance plans consider the facility fee to be a covered benefit.  Like any other non-covered service, patients are financially responsible for the facility fee up to our contractual agreement (if any) with the insurer.

Many of our patients do not have medical insurance, and we realize that urgent care visits are expensive.  Our charges are more than a primary care office, but substantially less than the emergency room.  RMUC does offer significant discounts to patients without medical insurance.  ANY patient, who chooses to settle their payment at the time of service, will pay the substantially discounted rate of $150.00.  This discounted rate includes the facility fee, any laboratory tests performed in our facility, and most professional services and procedures.  It does not include medications, x-rays, outside laboratory services, or diagnostic tests. This discount is called our “Pay Today” option. Patients without health insurance must choose the “Pay Today” plan. 

The Pay Today charge of $150.00 is collected at check-in.  If x-rays, supplies, medications, or other procedures are required (or ordered), these services are at additional costs for which the patient will be responsible at the end of the visit.  Patients unable to pay all of the additional charges will be billed for any outstanding balance.

As you know, our physicians cannot “guess” what could be causing a patient’s ailment, but rely on a physical examination and the results from tests to arrive at a diagnosis and course of treatment.  We perform a few laboratory tests at our facilities (urinalysis; urine pregnancy; and rapid strep, influenza, RSV, and mononucleosis) and these laboratory services are included in the $150.00 discounted fee.  Some tests may need to be sent to an outside laboratory.  You are responsible for the costs of these tests, and you will receive a separate bill from the outside laboratory.  X-ray services received at our Aurora office are billed separately by Centura Health and x-ray services received at our Longmont office are billed separately by Twin Peaks Radiology.

By choosing our Pay Today option, you are indicating that you do not have health insurance coverage that you wish to use for your visit.  RMUC will not be able to submit any claims for reimbursement to you by any commercial insurance carrier.

Credit Policy

All charges for patients without insurance are due and payable at the time of service. We accept cash, checks, VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.

For insured patients for whom we submit a claim to the health insurance company, all charges are due and payable in full within 30 days of the billing charges.  We do however recognize the often-unexpected nature of medical costs, and we encourage our patients to discuss payment arrangements with the Patient Account Specialists in our billing office.

Special arrangements may be made for extended payment plans depending on the amount of the balance due and your individual financial circumstances.

Accounts may be referred to a collection agency or for legal action if the financial obligations cannot be resolved.

Billing Questions

All billing and payment questions should be directed to our billing office.  The telephone number is 303-759-3110.