Separate Billing

Under federal law, certain services cannot be included in your hospital bill. Therefore, you will receive separate physician bills for each service rendered by the following:

These physician fees are for professional services rendered and/or interpretation of studies performed, and any questions regarding them should be addressed directly to those physician offices.

In addition, if an Ocean Medical Center hospitalist (a hospital-based internal medicine physician) treats you for a situation that arises when your own physician is not available, you will be billed directly by that physician. The charges will not appear on your hospital bill. You should submit any such bills to your insurance provider or make arrangements for payment directly with that physician.

To Our Surgical Patients
In major surgical cases, it is mandatory to have a second qualified surgeon or surgeons available to assist the attending surgeon. Its purpose is to ensure the quality and safety of complex procedures. Traditionally, the cost of an assisting surgeon or surgeons was included in your hospital bill. Today, however, the Federal Tax Equity and Responsibility Act (TEFRA) does not allow such an inclusion, so you will receive a separate bill from the assisting surgeon or surgeons and are expected to pay for the services rendered by them.

Insurance companies are familiar with this practice and should include the assisting surgeon or surgeons for payment, if it is an included benefit. These bills should be forwarded to your insurance provider.