Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi honors the following insurance and health coverage options. It's always a good idea to contact your insurance provider prior to scheduling an appointment or seeking treatment to avoid unexpected exceptions, deductibles, or other gaps in your health coverage benefits.

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi
• Cigna Open Access Plans
• HealthLink
• Humana ChoiceCare Network
• Medicare
• Mississippi Medicaid
• United Healthcare
• Tricare

You will be notified by telephone or mail concerning the results of your test and/or other diagnostic studies performed. If you receive only a diagnostic test, your referring physician will be notified of the results.

• Please contact our office during business hours for refills prescribed to you by one of our providers.
• Certain refill prescriptions will require an office visit.

There are basic fees for each visit and for additional treatment procedures. You will be financially responsible for the medical care received. Charges for services will be submitted to your insurance company; we will file your insurance for you. A billing statement will be mailed to you monthly showing your balance due. If you are insured by one of the PPOs to which we belong, you will be asked to pay any applicable copay at the time of your visit.

We accept Medicare, Medicaid (Mississippi and Alabama), HealthLink, Blue Cross of Mississippi, and Champus. You must bring your insurance card with you in order for us to file your claim. Your insurance contract is between you and the insurance company or government agency. You should be aware of any policy restrictions with your insurance company. You are responsible for any amount not covered by your plan. If you change insurance companies, please let us know. Telephone inquiries regarding your financial account should be directed to the Patient Relations Representative at (662)620-6818.

For your convenience, we have established VISA, MasterCard, and Discover systems for the payment of services. We also honor bank debit cards. If you need to make payment arrangements, you may discuss this with a representative in our office.

Should you have financial problems that result in a payment delay, please contact us. We won’t know you are having problems unless you tell us. We will make every effort to work out an acceptable payment plan to enable you to take care of your obligation. If all efforts fail, referral of your account to a collection agency may be necessary.

Please note that you may receive a separate bill from the various providers who render services to you, including the physician, the hospital, and/or the radiologist.

Because exposure to tobacco is detrimental to your health, we ask that you refrain from smoking while in this office.

Your medical records are confidential. Protecting patient privacy is important to us. We will maintain safeguards to protect our patient’s information.

Thank you, again, for choosing Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi, P.A.

**Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws & does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age disability or sex.

In order to maximize the interaction between you and your cardiologist at your next visit, it is best to come prepared. There are materials you should bring with you and ways you should prepare for your appointment. Here are some tips for a more meaningful visit:

1. Always bring your current medications. A sheet of paper with all of your current medications written out or typed out (including name, dose, and frequency of use) is an invaluable resource for your cardiologist. A list of any medication allergies is also helpful. Having this information helps ensure accuracy in your medical record.
2. Carry a list of your health care providers (including name, address, telephone number, and condition being followed). This will help ensure that communication between your cardiologist and all of your other care providers is complete.
3. Compile a list of your past health history. It is important to include any surgical procedures (with at least approximate dates), a list of any major prior or ongoing illnesses/health issues, and a list of any major tests, especially if performed within the last year. Knowing past health events can help the physician make a diagnosis or prescribe the best course of treatment.
4. Compile a family health history of close blood relatives. This includes brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and children. From a cardiology perspective, what we are especially interested in finding out is whether any of your relatives have been diagnosed with heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or aneurysm. Knowing when any of your relatives passed away and cause of death is also important. A family history of health events can provide clues as to what illnesses/conditions you may be at risk for developing.
5. If you have them, bring in copies of any recent lab results and any other test results from the past year, especially if the testing took place with a different health care provider. This will help avoid duplicating tests unnecessarily.
6. Write down a list of the questions you have about your condition and bring it with you to the appointment. Keep the list realistic in length. You might want to pick the top 3 or 4 concerns you would like to have addressed during your visit. Even though this might seem silly, it is easy to get side tracked during a medical appointment. Write down ahead of time what pieces of information you want to leave with.
7. Keep yourself organized. Putting all this data into a folder is a good idea so it’s easy to access during your visit.
8. Don’t take anything for granted. Although information systems are getting better and communication between systems is improving, you are still the most reliable repository for your health care record. Keep your copy accurate and up-to-date.