Payment assistance for the uninsured at NRMC Rural Health Clinics

Friday, December 16, 2011

Nevada Daily Mail

Nevada Regional Medical Center's three Rural Health Clinics are now offering a payment program for patients who do not have insurance and may not be able to pay their full clinic bill. The NowCare Clinic in Nevada and the Family Medical Clinics in Sheldon and Rich Hill are all participating in the program.

This program, called the Sliding Fee Scale, is designed for patients who do not have insurance and have a low household income to receive a discount on their medical bill for the clinic. Patients must provide proof of household income to the clinic to be approved for an adjustment. The percentage of discount is based on the patient's total household income for all persons living in the home. Discounts are available for children and adults for services provided at the clinic. Any services rendered off-site such as lab work or diagnostic imaging are not covered under this program. However, other payment options may be available at NRMC if the off-site services are received there.

"If we are to encourage a healthy community, healthcare must be available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay. I'm proud to work for a non-profit hospital that recognizes this and has options available to encourage patients to seek care," stated Angela Barrett, clinic operations director for NRMC. When a patient calls to make an appointment they will be asked what type of insurance they have; if they have none they will be asked to bring evidence of household income. Also, a minimum $10 payment will be required at the point of service.

Upon arrival, there is an application to fill out and the documentation supplied will be used to determine the discount.

All thee clinics offer walk-in or service by appointment with a nurse practitioner or visiting physician. The NowCare Clinic in Nevada offers expanded hours during the week and they are open every Saturday until noon. To get the hours and addresses of any of the three Rural Health Clinics of NRMC, visit their Web site at www.nrmchealth.com. Choose the services tab and select Health Clinics.

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So I pay more than someone who does not or can not afford health insurance. Recently my son needed an MRI after everythinng was said and donethe bill for the MRI was 4k. We know a family that does not have nsurance they went and had an MRI their cost 500.00. makes you wonder wonder why medical insurance is so expensive. Everyone should be required to have health insurance, we all pay one way or another.

Look at what the top 2 CEO'S in the USA made last year one was a 165 mil, the other 140 mill both CEO'S of health insurance companies. Yep there is gold in the sick

-- Posted by endersgame on Fri, Dec 16, 2011, at 12:08 PM
The cost is the cost regardless of how you pay. But, what often happens with self-pay patients is the cost is too much and they pay nothing at all. This is what drives up healthcare costs across the industry! If the uninsured will pay something, even a portion of the bill, that will help stabalize the inflation.

The services for the uninsured family you speak of cost the same as yours; NRMC likely footed the rest of that bill. They put out A LOT of money in charity care and bad debt every year- as most hospitals do.

-- Posted by 1goodcitizen on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 1:06 PM
There is a lot of charity at the city hospital as citizen mentioned. Nevada Rotary helps with funding for medications for special instances. Employees use to cover this out of their own pockets to help people in need. Several other local organizations help as well in various other areas.

I think it's the obligation of the community to help those in need. Just wish it was easier to differentiate between the needy and the lazy. As with so many other things people learn how to "work the system".

-- Posted by bbloom on Wed, Dec 21, 2011, at 7:31 AM

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