No Surprises Act

Your rights and protections against surprise medical bills

When you get emergency care or are treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing, or balance billing.

Hope & Healing Counseling supports these protections. As an outpatient mental health practice, most of our care is delivered directly with you rather than through hospital-based or emergency settings, but the same principle applies here: you should know what your care will cost before you receive it.

You have the right to a Good Faith Estimate

You have the right to receive a "Good Faith Estimate" explaining how much your medical care will cost.

Under the No Surprises Act, health care providers need to give patients who don't have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services before those items or services are provided.

• You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services, including related costs like therapy sessions and assessments.
• You can ask your provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service, or any time you request it.
• If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
• Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

Disputing a bill

If your final bill is $400 or more above the Good Faith Estimate you were given, you have the right to dispute the bill. You may be eligible for a Patient-Provider Dispute Resolution process. Contact our office first — most billing questions can be resolved directly, without a formal dispute. For more information about your rights under the No Surprises Act, visit cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.