Augusta University Medical Center will provide care without discrimination for emergency medical conditions regardless of a patient's ability to pay and Augusta University Medical Center will adhere to the hospital’s debt collection practices policy.

There is no doubt that health insurance benefit plans are confusing. Most plans do not provide 100% coverage for a hospital bill. Each plan has its own set of rules, exclusions and services that are not covered.

It is your responsibility to be familiar with your specific benefit plan. If you are unsure of your coverage for a particular medical procedure or test, you should call the customer service telephone number on your insurance card before scheduling the procedure.

Your health insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. As a service to you, Augusta University Health will send a claim to your health insurance company.  By working together, we can minimize misunderstandings, payment delays and billing costs. However, you are responsible for any charges not covered by your benefit plan.

Depending on your plan, you may be required to get approval (pre-certification) before you receive hospital services.  Even in a life-threatening situation, your benefit plan may require you to contact them within 24 hours of receiving hospital care. We will assist you in doing that, but if you don’t obtain approval from your insurance company, you are responsible for paying for your hospital care. Also, obtaining approval does not guarantee that the cost of the service is completely covered by your benefit plan. You will still be responsible for any charges not covered by your benefit plan.

If Augusta University Medical Center does not participate in your insurance plan, you can still receive services here. However, your insurance company will consider our services as "out of network" and you will probably be responsible for paying more of the bill.