NORMAN PARATHYROID CENTER ADVANCE BENEFICIARY NOTICE

And Notification of Research Policies

This page outlines the billing policy of the Norman Parathyroid Center. All patients are required to acknowledge their understanding of this policy prior to undergoing consultation with us.

Insurance Billing:

We accept virtually all types of insurance. The billing staff of the Norman Parathyroid Center will submit all surgeon charges for your operation to your insurance company for you (specifically, this is the fee due the surgeon and the assistant surgeon for performing the actual operation). The cost of your operation that is covered by your insurance will be known prior to your operation, as will the amount (if any) of your co-pay, and any deductible that you still owe on your insurance for this year.

We are preferred providers for most major health plans, including Medicare, BC/BS, Humana, Aetna, Cigna, and others. Each of these insurances cover the cost of the operation (the amount covered depends on your plan, your deductibles, and other plan-specific issues, but all will cover parathyroid surgery).

Occasionally, there will be a remaining balance not covered by your insurance that will be your responsibility. By signing this form, you acknowledge and understand that you are responsible for any and all remaining balances that your insurance carrier indicates is patient responsibility for services rendered by Drs Norman, Carling, Ruan, Mitchell, Parrack, Rhodes, Suh, Watkins, and Alkhalili.

Payment of Co-Pay and Deductibles:

It is the policy of the Norman Parathyroid Center to collect your co-pay and any deductible still owed at the time of service. We will contact you to let you know your payment requirements and to help you make arrangements for payment prior to the day of your operation. Our billing staff will tell you the amount that is your responsibility prior to you coming to the office / hospital. If there are any questions regarding payment and the need to establish a payment plan, please contact Linda to discuss (or call her at 813-972-0000).

Second Opinion Online Consultation Fee, with Personalized Disease Summary:

The first step in the process of becoming a patient and undergoing parathyroid surgery with us is the Second Opinion Consultation. During this meeting, you’ll connect directly with one of our expert parathyroid surgeons, review your medical records, and discuss treatment options and next steps for you.

The Second Opinion Consultation may be completed in one of two ways: in person at our office in Tampa, Florida, or via phone from wherever you are located. We offer this option because we know that many of our patients travel to Tampa from out of state (or other countries) for their surgery, and we don’t want them to have to travel here twice.

Almost all insurance providers will cover an in-person consultation, so if you are local or choose to travel to Tampa for your consultation prior to consultation fee will be your Specialist Office Visit Copay.

If you choose to opt for a consultation via phone to avoid traveling to Tampa twice, please note that this will not be covered by any insurance company other than Medicare and will result in a charge of $750.

This fee covers the assimilation and organization of your medical chart, entry of this data into our extensive computer database for comparisons with thousands of other patients, a review of your chart and data by either Drs Norman, Carling, Ruan, Mitchell, Parrack, Rhodes, Suh, and Watkins, and a phone/online second opinion consultation with one of these surgeons during which your case will be reviewed in detail and a plan for next steps will be developed.

Once your chart is reviewed, one of our seven expert doctors will call you on the phone to discuss their findings and recommendations. The chart we prepare for you will include labs, clinic notes, x-ray results, and other records from one or more physician's offices and labs. This chart will organize your calcium levels and parathyroid hormone levels over the past several years (as many as are available to us) and will show how your disease has progressed. Your information will be organized and graphed in such a way that will allow Drs Norman, Carling, Ruan, Mitchell, Parrack, Rhodes, Suh, and Watkins to review all pertinent information regarding your parathyroid problem, helping them make recommendations regarding your needs and expectations post operatively. Your information will be entered into our computer database so that comparisons can be made between your parathyroid disease and thousands of previous patients we have seen with this disease previously. Drs Norman, Carling, Ruan, Mitchell, Parrack, Rhodes, Suh, and Watkins will call you to discuss their findings and recommendations.

At the completion of your consultation, you will receive a summary of your diagnosis in the form of a Second Opinion Document which is typically 8-9 pages in length. Difficult cases are always reviewed by two or more of our doctors.

In Summary, if you are local or choose to travel to Tampa the have your Second Opinion Consultation in person, the fee will be covered be your insurance provider and you will only be responsible for your copay. If you live outside of the state of Florida or choose to do your Second Opinion Consultation via phone for any reason, the fee will not be covered by any insurance provider (except Medicare).

This type of surgery is far more complex than first-time neck operations and there are few doctors in the US who do this type of operation with any frequency. Drs Norman, Carling, Ruan, Mitchell, Parrack, Rhodes, Suh, and Watkins perform more re-operations for parathyroid disease than any other surgeons in the world (they do at least 1 or 2 every day, sometimes as many as 4 times per day.) In these cases, the fee functions the same as is outlined above. If you are local or choose to travel to Tampa to have your consultation in person, your insurance provider will pay for the cost and you will only be responsible for the co-pay. If you are not local or choose to have your consultation via phone for any reason, your insurance provider will not cover the fee and you will be responsible for the full amount.

*If you are on a limited income and cannot afford our consultation fee, please inquire with our office about our financial hardship assistance.

Appeals: All patients have the right to appeal any decision that is made by their insurance / Medicare carrier about any payments or refusal of services. This is federal law. As noted above, any patient can elect to be evaluated in the Tampa clinic and therefore elect not to pay the phone consultation fee. Please let us know.

Questions Regarding Your Bill:  Questions should be addressed to Linda via email or via phone at 813-972-0000. Please do not call her or email her unless you have ALREADY had your phone consultation with one of the doctors.

Ongoing Research

The physicians at the Norman Parathyroid Center are constantly engaged with ongoing research into many aspects of parathyroid disease. By becoming a patient you acknowledge that your medical records will likely be included with hundreds or thousands of other patients with parathyroid disease (hyperparathyroidism) and that specific aspects of your case will likely be examined. The purpose of this research is to allow for a better understanding of parathyroid disease and hyperparathyroidism, how it is diagnosed, and how best it can be treated. Your information will be studied only in the collective, along with many other patients. Specific studies of you as an individual will not be undertaken. No outside information will be requested as a part of these studies.

Your information will remain private and confidential at all times. You information will not be identifiable, and at no time will your information be examined as an individual, or in any way that would allow you to be identified. Your privacy is paramount and under no circumstances will be jeopardized.

You have the right to have your medical information omitted from any research project, and this is done simply by email directly to Dr Norman, or to our head nurse Linda.