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N. Basin Med Clinics |
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General Information Clinic Hours, Locations & Phone
Numbers - Three clinics throughout
Lincoln County to serve you.
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to see our
North Basin Medical Clinics Services Primary Care and Family Practice including:
Other Services Available at our Clinics Include:
The physicians of North Basin Medical Clinics are contracted by most insurance companies. If you do not see your insurance company listed here, please call us so we can confirm or register with the company you carry.
For a list of other First Health Network offerings we accept, call Darci Linstrum at (509) 725-7101. What our patients need to know… Preferred Provider Definition of preferred provider – A physician, or group of physicians, who have a signed contract with an insurance company to provide healthcare services to the company’s members. The physician is paid a percentage of the charge. What does this mean to you? North Basin Medical
Clinics is a preferred provider for most insurance covering employees of
Referral Definition of a referral – documentation by the primary care physician that shows your insurance company has authorized you to see a specialist. What does this mean to you? North Basin Medical Clinics regularly refers patients to medical specialists, many who hold office hours right here in Davenport . If you need a referral or do not know if you have received a referral from one of our physicians, call us prior to your appointment with the specialist. If you have been referred to our surgeon, Dr. Deanna Huntwork, it is your responsibility to be sure that any required insurance referrals have been taken care of prior to your appointment. If you are unsure whether you need a referral, please contact your primary care physician or your insurance company. Verification of Benefits Prior to any visit, you should verify your benefits with our insurance company to make sure the visit (including surgery or medical procedures) is covered. Preauthorization Definition of preauthorization – Approval by your insurance company to proceed with surgery or a special procedure. What does this mean to you? Most procedures or surgeries require preauthorization from you insurance. You must verify that this is done by the physician who will perform the procedure. Obtaining preauthorization does not guarantee that your insurance company will pay the bill. Denials Definition of denial – When your insurance company refuses to reimburse the medical charges by your doctor. What does this mean to you? More and more insurance companies are denying charges as a standard practice in order to delay payments. However, we can circumvent this by submitting your bill without mistakes. You can help us prevent denials by doing the following: 1. Provide your insurance cards at each visit. We’ve found many insurance companies continually change the address on your card to which you send the bill. 2. Keep us updated if you have any address or telephone changes. 3. Speak with your insurance company and verify coverage, referral and preauthorization prior to visits and procedures. 4. Contact your insurance company or us if the insurance company wants any further paperwork or asks questions that you don’t understand. 5. Don’t just pay a medical bill because it has been initially denied by your insurance company. Check your benefits and demand answers. Call us. We may be able to help. Co-Pays Definition of Co-Pays – amount you must pay out of pocket at the time of your medical visit. What does this mean to you? Your insurance card will indicate your co-pay. Please pay your co-pay at the time of your visit. Billing Once your insurance has paid their part, you may be responsible for a balance. We are glad to work with you no matter what your financial status. However, if you don’t communicate with us, we cannot help you. Please call our billing office for payment arrangements at the following toll-free number 1-888-474-2728 Common Insurance & Managed Care Terms Understanding insurance can be difficult. Here is an explanation of many terms you may want to be familiar with when filing or following up on a medical claim. We hope this listing of terms will help you understand your billing information more easily. Primary Care Physician A physician chosen by the insured to be responsible for providing primary care services. This includes general medical visits as well as referral to specialists. Most PCPs are family practitioners, in general practice or general internal medicine. In an HMO, the Primary Care Physician is also know as the “gatekeeper.” Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) An organized system to deliver health care for a specific geographic area. All HMOs have a basic set of services and members generally select a primary care physician to be responsible for basic care and referrals to specialists. HMOs offer no benefits outside of their network and generally have low co-pays (out-of-pocket expenses). Managed Care Managed Care describes programs designed to manage cost and quality of health care. Plans vary from restrictive physician listings and low co-payments to fairly open physician listings and out of pocket amounts. Indemnity Plan Known as “traditional” insurance, this is not managed care. Indemnity plan members choose their own physicians and pay a percentage of the provider’s customary fee. There are no co-payments and the insurance company does not generally have much oversight of the health care plan itself. Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) PPOs provide health care benefits without requiring a Primary Care Physician’s referral to a specialist. Members pay less when using a physician who is part of the PPO’s provider network. Medicaid The state government’s health care plan for low-income individuals, the indigent and elderly. Medicare The federal government’s health insurance plan for the elderly and disabled folks who are eligible for the program. Point of Service These plans are similar to the HMO concept, but if a member chooses to seek a specialist without a Primary Care Physician’s referral, they may do so. They will pay higher out-of-pocket amounts for most specialty work if physician is out of the network. Deductible Dollar amount of medical care a person must pay each year from their own pocket before the health plan will make a payment. Co-Payment Flat fee paid out of pocket for medical services – paid at time of service. Usually applies to office visits, prescriptions, emergency or hospital services. Out of Network Benefits HMO and PPO Point of Service plans usually contain out-of-network benefits, which are not part of network services. With these ONBs, cost sharing requirements can be somewhat hidden in the process – for example, some plans limit the benefit to a maximum allowable based on average contract rates. Talking with your health care plan provider to understand the intricacies of Out of Network Benefits is highly recommended. |
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Meet our NBMC Administrator 
