Appointments now available during lunch
For some, lunch is the only time when you can make it to the office for a visit. To better accommodate the busy Katy community, starting February 1, we will open up the office's hours of operations to include noon to 1pm! This means that the office will now be open from 8am to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, and from 8am to 6pm on Wednesday and Thursday!
Deductibles
As a general reminder, and so that you are not surprised at check out, the beginning of the year means your insurance deductibles reset and you may have to pay for your service out of pocket (until you meet your deductible).
Check-in procedure
Please remember to check-in for your appointment from your car -- please do not enter the office without calling first. We are doing our best to limit unnecessary human interactions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and by following this policy, you will be helping us tremendously.
New babies
Please remember to bring all of your new baby's hospital discharge documentation to your first visit. Also, please remember to add your baby to your health insurance as soon as possible. Most insurance companies will cover your baby for the first 30 days only, however afterwards, the financial responsibility will become your own and you will have to pay out of pocket at the end of your visit (this has been happening recently and often surprises new parents).
No-show fees
Building the patient schedule ahead of time helps Westside Pediatrics staff the office properly so that you are in and out efficiently and with minimal waiting time. When patients cancel their appointment too late, especially now during COVID-19 when we do not accept walk-ins, those cancelled time slots often go unfilled. We ask patients to give us reasonable (24 hours) time to schedule other patients in a cancelled time slot so that other patients can be seen by a doctor sooner rather than later. If you miss an appointment or don’t cancel your appointment in time, the no-show fee of $25 will be assessed in your subsequent office visit (our “No Show” policy can be found on our “New Patient?” page at the top of the website).
Regarding insurance coverage
It’s safe to say that, no matter who you are, health insurance is confusing! The details surrounding what and how much insurance covers can be quite tricky to navigate. It is not uncommon for patients to feel caught off guard when checking out of the office due to an unexpected cost that they thought their insurance would cover.
At Westside Pediatrics, we do our absolute best to prevent any surprises our patients might experience with miscellaneous healthcare costs. Before and on the date of your appointment, we check and double-check your insurance information with you and your insurance provider to minimize the chance of this happening. Considering how complex current reimbursement policies can be for most insurance companies, we are expeditious and comprehensive in refunding patients if insurance policy confusion results in a double payment.
I'd like to assure you that when it comes to patient visits and covering service balances, we take a customer-first approach and assign financial responsibility accordingly (whether to the patient or to the insurance company). We will absolutely work with you to better understand your situation as it relates to your insurance and will provide you with our professional recommendations as necessary.
