Medical Billing Basics

For patients with health insurance, the exact amount owed for any medical service — including a visit from DispatchHealth — depends on the type of insurance plan you have. It usually takes a few weeks to generate your bill, because providers like DispatchHealth must first work with your insurance company to understand your plan, what portion of the cost is covered by your insurance, and what portion you are responsible for.

A few weeks after your visit, you’ll receive an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance provider. This is not a bill. It’s a breakdown of the costs associated with your care, how much your plan covers, and how much you may owe.

Understanding a few key terms can help you understand your EOB:

Deductible: This is the amount you are required to pay (usually per calendar year) before your insurance plan begins covering your costs. Many plans have both individual and family deductibles. Understanding whether you’ve met your deductible for the year is important, since it can have a big impact on how much, if anything, you’re required to pay for your medical care. If you’re not sure about your deductible, we recommend you contact your insurance company to learn more.

Co-Payment: This is a fixed amount that insurance companies require their plan members to pay for a particular medical service, even when insurance coverage covers some or most of the cost. Most medical services require co-payments, and these can vary depending on the type of service and insurance plan. The co-payment for a DispatchHealth visit is usually the same as for a trip to the urgent care, and this amount may be noted on your insurance card. If you’re not sure about your co-payment, we recommend you contact your insurance company to learn more.

Co-insurance: After a plan member has met their deductible and insurance benefits “kick in,” often the insurance plan covers a portion of costs, while the member covers the rest. “Co-insurance” is the percentage of cost the member is responsible for. Co-insurance percentages may vary for different types of service. If you’re not sure about how co-insurance factors into your insurance coverage, we recommend you contact your insurance company to learn more.

Your DispatchHealth bill will be issued a week or two after you receive your EOB from your insurance plan. We always send a paper bill in the mail and place the bill in your account on our patient portal, managed by athenaHealth.

You may also receive an email or a text notification indicating that your bill is available in the portal.

Find more information and answers to common questions on our Costs and Insurance page.