Financial assistance

Financial relief may be available to patients who have received non-elective care and do not qualify for state or federal assistance and are unable to establish partial payments or pay their balance. In most cases, this will apply to patients who fall between 0 - 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Federal Poverty Levels based on total household income, with sufficient supporting documentation provided by the patient, will have a 100% Charity discount processed.

For patients with balances greater than $1,500, and whose documented income is in-between 201 and 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, we have an expanded financial assistance policy that may reduce the amount you owe. To determine if non-elective services you received could be eligible for either full charity or partial charity, please contact your hospital for details on how you may see if you are eligible to receive assistance.

Some locations may have identified additional criteria for charity eligibility besides the Federal Poverty Levels as noted above (i.e., high medical costs, more lenient income levels, etc.). To verify your eligibility for assistance under this policy, we recommend you contact the hospital.

A validation must be completed by the hospital to ensure that if any portion of the patient's medical services can be paid by any federal, or state governmental health care program (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, Champus, Medicare secondary payor), private insurance company, or other private, non-governmental third-party payor, that the payment has been received and posted to the account. No charity discount can be applied to any account with any outstanding payer liability.

All Medicare accounts and all non-Medicare inpatient accounts will be required to have supporting income verification documentation. Medicare requires independent income and resource verification for a charity care determination with respect to Medicare beneficiaries (PRM-I § 312).

For Medicare beneficiaries, in addition to thorough completion of the Financial Assistance Application, the preferred income documentation will be the most current year's Federal Tax Return. Any patient/responsible party unable to provide his/her most recent Federal Tax Return may provide two pieces of supporting documentation from the following list to meet this income verification requirement:

• State Income Tax Return for the most current year
• Most Recent Employer Pay Stubs
• Written documentation from income sources
• Copy of all bank statements for the last three months
• Current credit report

All Self-Pay patients, excluding elective cosmetic procedures and facility designated self-pay flat rate procedures , will receive discount similar to managed care, referred to as an "uninsured discount". The Uninsured Discount is limited to patients who have no third party payer source of payment or do not qualify for Medicaid, Charity or any other discount program the facility offers. The amount of the discount offered may vary by location based on state requirements, patient income levels, and local rates.

At the time of service, patients will be asked to make payment in full or establish monthly payment arrangements on the patient liability amount.

Patients confirmed to be uninsured (or their responsible party) will be presented with an Uninsured Patient Information document that provides information on the Uninsured Discount Policy and other available discounts and payment options. This document will outline the process for uninsured discounts and inform the patient of additional account resolution options (i.e. monthly payments). The patient/responsible party will be asked to sign and date the document at the time of service. If a patient is determined to be eligible for assistance under our financial assistance policies, the patient has the option to enter into an appropriate payment plan. A patient who agrees to a payment plan may request and have an opportunity to renegotiate such payment plan, which will include opportunity for a new financial assessment of the patient's financial status.

Learn more about HCA Healthcare's Patient Financial Support policies and programs.

Patient Financial Information

The PLP program provides protection for patients with household incomes between 400% and 1,000% of FPG. The discounts under this program help patients who may find themselves with limited coverage, a high deductible or who may be out of network. Similar to the policies above, these discounts are need-based and calculated on a sliding scale based on the patient’s annual household income. The PLP further limits patient balances and may be combined with the charity or uninsured discount.

At our Mission Health Rural Health Centers, no one will be denied access to care due to an inability to pay. There is a discounted/sliding fee schedule available based on family size and income. Please see the following practices fit into an RHC category below:

• Mission Health Center – McDowell
  • Mission My Care Now McDowell
  • Mission Surgery McDowell
  • Asheville Cardiology Associates – Marion
  • Mission Women’s Care McDowell
• Mission Community Medicine – Sugar Hill
  • Asheville Orthopedic Associates - Marion
  • Mission Health Center Sugar Hill
• Mission Health Center Franklin
  • Angel Primary Care
  • General Surgery Franklin
  • Angel Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Mission My Care Now- Franklin
• Mission Health Mauzy - Phillips Center
  • Mission Community Medicine Spruce Pine
  • Mission My Care Now Spruce Pine
  • Mission Women’s Care Spruce Pine
  • Mission Community Surgery Spruce Pine
  • Mission Community Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Blue Ridge
• Mission Community Primary Care Cashiers
• Mission Community Primary Care-Haywood
• Mission Community Medicine – Nebo
• Mission Health Center - Highway 70
• Blue Ridge Medical Center - Yancey Campus
• Mission Health Center - Rutherford

Mission Health is committed to responsible billing and collections. Our financial counselors work with patients to establish interest-free payment arrangements. Patients who make payments at the time of service for their estimated financial liability receive a 20% discount of the amount owed. These policies and resources reflect our desire to mitigate personal financial issues arising from our patients’ medical bills. But we can only act when we are aware, and thus encourage our patients to take responsibility for seeking assistance as soon as issues or questions arise.

Mission Health’s trained staff is available to assist patients in applying for both federal and state healthcare coverage programs. Our benefit advisors offer screening and eligibility evaluation on-site at the facility, at one of our offices, or in a patient’s home, and will provide support throughout the application process. When eligibility is secured, this becomes a benefit to our patients not only for their current healthcare service, but also provides coverage in the future.

For more information, including Medicaid eligibility and how to obtain a financial assistance application, please contact:

Phone: 828-213-1500
Toll Free: 800-848-8732

Mission is committed to responsible billing and collections. Our financial counselors work with patients to establish interest-free payment arrangements where needed. We do not report to credit bureaus, and we do not pursue litigation activity that involves suing patients or filing liens on patient bad debt accounts.

These policies and resources reflect our desire to mitigate personal financial issues arising from our patients’ medical bills. But we can only act when we are aware, and thus encourage our patients to take responsibility for seeking assistance as soon as issues or questions arise.