Fees, Billing, & Insurance
Fees for Services
For currently enrolled students, there is no evaluation and management (E&M) charge to see a healthcare provider for an acute illness or injury. On a per semester basis, we only collect $10 the first time a student sees any provider. After that, there is no $10 charge to see a provider for any other visits during that semester.
There is a fee for physical examinations for activities such as football, scuba diving, study abroad and ROTC. Student Health Services charges services such as x-rays, laboratory work, orthopedic appliances, dressings, suturing lacerations, injections, immunizations, and other surgical procedures. We will always bill your insurance first. The charges incurred from your visit may be placed on your bursar account or can paid by cash or check.
Our contracts with insurers allow us to not collect a co-pay since we do not bill an evaluation and management code. However, deductible and co-insurance as outlined by your insurance carrier apply and will need to be met.
Insurance
SHS is currently in-network with
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- UnitedHealthcare Student Health Insurance
- Cigna PPO
- UnitedHealthcare
- Aetna
*TRICARE – TRICARE considers us as a certified provider, which means that we are authroized to see TRICARE beneficiaries and submit claims. Officially, they consider us as Non-Network, BUT we do accept the allowable charge for visit and write off what they deem as non-allowable. We process their claims as an in-network provider would. Individual cases may vary, but we will work with you. TRICARE has denied Student Health Services as an in-network provider citing that they are not currently expanding their network in the East Region despite our position that we are a facility serving students on a college campus and should be granted in-network status.
We will file any other insurance you have, but please know that they may not fully cover services rendered here due to being out-of-network.
Please notify the receptionist at the time of your visit. We do not currently accept assignment for Medicare or Medicaid or any state/federally funded plans.
If you are covered under an insurance plan, please have a current card with you at the time of service. Once information is given to the insurance office it will not be necessary to have your card at subsequent visits unless your coverage changes.
No-show Fee and Late Arrival Policy
If a patient must cancel their appointment, they must notify Student Health at least 1 hour in advance for it to be considered proper notice. If proper notice is not given, a patient is considered a no-show and a $20 charge will be placed on their bursar.
If a patient arrives 10 minutes or more after their scheduled appointment time, they will be rescheduled for another time.
Student Health Insurance
If you are a Graduate Student or an International Student receiving an assistantship, you will be automatically enrolled by the Graduate School or International Programs. INFORMATION REGARDING POLICY AND CHARGES WILL BE AVAILABLE AND POSTED IN AUGUST OF EACH YEAR.
Information regarding mandatory health insurance for graduate students can be accessed here and international students can be accessed here.
The university now offers a voluntary health insurance plan for undergraduate students. Learn more about the plan at the link below.
Important Facts
- Insurance information is needed at your first visit to SHS.
- Provide an e-mail address that is checked frequently.
Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills
When you get emergency care or get 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. In these cases, you shouldn’t be charged more than your plan’s copayments, coinsurance and/or deductible.
When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, like a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible. You may have additional costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network.
“Out-of-network” means providers and facilities that haven’t signed a contract with your health plan to provide services. Out-of-network providers may be allowed to bill you for the difference between what your plan pays and the full amount charged for a service. This is called “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward your plan’s deductible or annual out-of-pocket limit.
“Surprise billing” is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can’t control who is involved in your care—like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider. Surprise medical bills could cost thousands of dollars depending on the procedure or service.
Emergency services
If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility, the most they can bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount (such as copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles). You can’t be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services you may get after you’re in stable condition, unless you give written consent and give up your protections not to be balanced billed for these post-stabilization services.
Certain services at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center
When you get services from an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, certain providers there may be out-of-network. In these cases, the most those providers may bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount. This applies to emergency medicine, anesthesia, pathology, radiology, laboratory, neonatology, assistant surgeon, hospitalist, or intensivist services. These providers can’t balance bill you and may not ask you to give up your protections not to be balance billed.
If you get other services at these in-network facilities, out-of-network providers can’t balance bill you, unless you give written consent and give up your protections.
You’re never required to give up your protections from balance billing. You also aren’t required to get out-of-network care. You can choose a provider or facility in your plan’s network.
You’re only responsible for paying your share of the cost (like the copayments, coinsurance, and deductible that you would pay if the provider or facility was in-network). Your health plan will pay any additional costs to out-of-network providers and facilities directly.
Generally, your health plan must:
- Cover emergency services without requiring you to get approval for services in advance (also known as “prior authorization”).
- Cover emergency services by out-of-network providers.
- Base what you owe the provider or facility (cost-sharing) on what it would pay an in-network provider or facility and show that amount in your explanation of benefits.
- Count any amount you pay for emergency services or out-of-network services toward your deductible and out-of-pocket limit.
If you think you’ve been wrongly billed, you may contact Mississippi Insurance Department, (601) 359-3569 or compliance@mid.ms.gov.
Visit the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for more information about your rights under federal law.