Payment process for insured out-patients
When you attend a Spire Healthcare hospital for an out-patient appointment, your consultant will send you a bill for the consultation fee. This is the cost of the appointment only. The hospital will charge separately for any tests, injections, and any other treatment which is carried out and is not included in the consultation fee.
Before attending your first appointment, you should contact your insurance company to check that that your condition is covered.
Points to check with your insurance company before your out-patient visit:
- Is there an excess payable on your policy?
- Are there any monetary limits for out-patient treatment?
- Is out-patient cover restricted to claims that result in a hospital admission?
Insurance details to bring to your out-patient appointment:
- Insurance company name and scheme details
- Membership or policy number
- Any confirmation of eligibility such as a pre-authorisation or claim reference number
If you cannot provide full insurance details or if your insurance does not cover the full cost of your out-patient treatment, we will ask you to pay any hospital charges on the day of your visit.
Payment process for insured in-patients and day-case patients
For most patients, treatment costs are based on agreements with your insurer and payment will be made direct by your insurer.
Sundry items
In addition to the main treatment costs, there are often sundry items which you will need to pay for. These may include:
- Insurance excess, co-payment or shortfall if your treatment charges exceed your policy limits
- Specialist equipment to aid recovery eg a wrist brace, crutches
- Drugs to take home if these are not already included in the overall treatment arrangements
- Personal expenses such as telephone calls, meals for visitors, newspapers
We will ask you to pay for any sundry items before leaving hospital or to provide credit or debit card details so that we can charge any sundry items to your card. You will be notified in advance of any payment due to be taken from your card.
Excesses and balances not covered by private health insurance
If you do not have sufficient cover or if there is an excess on your policy, your insurer will advise you of the outstanding payment due to the hospital. They will also notify Spire Healthcare of your excess/out of cover charges and we will send an invoice to you advising of the balance to be processed against your debit or credit card.