Insurance Information

Health insurance has become extremely complex nowadays, making it confusing for both patients and medical offices alike. There are more insurance plans available to patients than ever before, and they all differ from one another in numerous ways. Figuring out issues like referrals, required co-pays, and covered vs. non-covered services is surprisingly difficult and time-consuming. It is your obligation as the owner of your health insurance policy to understand your plan's benefits, limits, and requirements. In order to make your visit as efficient and pleasant as possible, it is critical that you, as the patient and health insurance policy user, review and understand your plan benefits and obligations BEFORE you check in at our office. The place to obtain information about what your insurance requires is the insurance card itself. If the card says you have a PPO (preferred provider organization) or POS (point of service), you probably will not need to get a referral from your family doctor before you come in for your Campus Eye Center appointment.

If you have original Medicare, you do not need a referral. However, there are many new Medicare Advantage (replacement) plans, which take the place of Medicare (even though you still pay the Medicare premium). Some of these plans require referrals. Others do not. If you are unsure, call the Customer Service phone number on your card. Getting a referral ahead of time is your responsibility. If you do not have a referral, you will need to either reschedule your appointment or accept responsibility to pay the entire charge for the appointment when you check out.

If you have health insurance from an HMO, you will probably require a referral for your visit at Campus Eye Center. We will make every reasonable effort to help you determine if a referral is necessary for your visit here. However, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO OBTAIN A REFERRAL IF ONE IS NEEDED.

If a referral is necessary, but you have not yet obtained it when you arrive at our office, you will be asked to call your family doctor to request the referral. We provide a telephone in our waiting room if such a call is necessary. In this case, please understand that your appointment start time may be significantly delayed while you wait for the referral to be provided.

If you cannot obtain a referral by telephone, you will have the choice of either paying full price for the care you receive (and requesting a refund from your insurance company later, which they may refuse to provide), or rescheduling your appointment and return at that time with a referral.

Please help us make your appointment as efficient as possible by obtaining any necessary referrals from your family doctor BEFORE you arrive in our office.