Know the cost before the surgery date
A planned procedure is the one time you can ask first. This free guide covers the network, authorization, and estimate questions to put in writing before the date, and how to check the bills that follow.
You shouldn’t have to track four billing parties just because you had one operation.
Your free help
Who bills for one procedure: surgeon, facility, anesthesia, pathology, and the providers you never chose.
The five questions to ask before the date, in writing, with a record-of-asking table.
The good faith estimate: the written cost estimate self-pay patients are entitled to before scheduled care.
The four danger points, including the out-of-network provider you never picked and the authorization that was never filed.
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See it in practice
The bill
The anesthesia group charged $3,150. Your plan paid $1,260. The bill asks you for the $1,890 balance.
What didn’t add up
A balance bill like this isn’t automatically owed. Federal surprise-billing rules can limit what you pay when an out-of-network provider treats you at an in-network facility you didn’t choose. So the $1,890 isn’t a number to pay on sight. It’s a number to check.
What we prepared
We set out the circumstances against the rule and prepare the challenge for you to send.
What you don’t have to do
You don’t have to know the No Surprises Act, work out whether it applies to you, or explain to an anesthesia billing office why a balance isn’t allowed. We check the circumstances against the rules and prepare the challenge.
You don’t have to decide whether to pay first and question it later.
What happens next
You review the challenge we’ve prepared. We tell you where it goes, the provider’s billing office. You send it. When they reply, send it to us. We’ll help you understand it during your 30 days of included support.
Why this matters
The number on a balance bill doesn’t tell you whether the circumstances behind it are protected. PatientStand checks the facts that matter before you treat $1,890 as money you owe, then prepares the next step if the bill needs challenging.
What PatientStand does differently
A person reads every line, not software.
One flat fee, never by the hour.
Plain language, answers within 48 hours.
Checked against the hospital's own published prices.
When you don't want to figure it out yourself
You can do all of this yourself. Or you can hand the hard part to us: we work out what is happening, what matters, and what to send, and prepare it for you to review and send in your own name.
The guide gets you this far
You asked the right questions before the procedure.
PatientStand takes it from here
When the bills arrive, we check them against what you were told, including whether every physician was in network.
What PatientStand checked
The circumstances decide this, not the bill.
We put the facts of your visit against the rule.
What we would confirm
- Was the facility in your insurance network?Yes
- Did you choose this anesthesiologist?Noassigned by the facility
- Is this a protected provider type?Yesancillary service
- Are they asking you to pay more than your normal in-network share?Yes
Why this is flagged
On these facts, there may be grounds to challenge the balance under federal surprise-billing rules.
Where to go from here
Keep going yourself
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This guide is general guidance and information only, not advice about your situation. Patient Stand prepares documents you review, sign, and send yourself.