Welcome to our practice. Our mission is to provide the best urologic care available in the Chicago area. A wide range of services, including imaging, blood draws, and minor surgery are provided at our three office locations. Hospital affiliations include Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Ascension Saint Alexius, and Hoffman Estates Surgery Center. Our physicians and staff are dedicated to treating patients with compassion and respect, and it is our goal that every patient feels better physically and emotionally.
Office Hours
Our Elgin, Hoffman Estates, and Lake Barrington offices are open five days a week from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. We do not have evening or weekend hours.
Appointments
Appointments can be made in person or via phone. Patients requiring urgent visits will be seen within 24 hours of contacting our office, excluding weekends and holidays. Our well-trained office staff will determine if your problem is urgent when you contact the office.
Be sure to bring a list of your medications so that we can update your medical records. Also, make staff aware of any allergies or changes in your health history. Click here for Forms, which are available on our website to help you organize your information. Bring a computer disc containing a copy of any x-rays or other radiology images that were performed at other facilities. If an electronic version is not available, a hard copy is fine. The disc can be obtained at the facility at which the x-ray or other imaging service was performed. Bring a copy of all recent laboratory testing.
We strongly suggest that all patients requiring a follow-up appointment make an appointment at the time of checkout.
Financial
Once your insurance carrier has reconciled your account, you will receive a statement from our billing department indicating the amount due directly from you. You can make a payment with a credit card, check, or cash. Payment plans are available. For accounts that are unpaid and unaddressed for 60 days following the initial statement, these accounts may go to collection or to our attorney. If Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC commences collection activities to collect any payment due, you will be responsible for and pay all reasonable collection expenses and fees incurred by Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC. If Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC commences legal proceedings to collect any payment due, you will be responsible for all reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs, and other reasonable collection expenses incurred by Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC.
Patients without insurance coverage are responsible for payments the day the service is provided. Our staff can provide information regarding costs and payment options.
On occasion, your physician may provide you with a service that is not covered by your insurance plan. For a service that is not expected to be covered, your physician or patient liaison will provide you with an Advance Beneficiary Notification form (“ABN”), explaining that the service may not be covered by your insurance, and provide the charge of the service. We require that you sign the ABN in advance in order to receive the service. You may elect to sign the ABN and receive the service, or to not sign the ABN and not receive the service. If you sign the ABN and your insurance carrier indicates that the service provided is not covered under your plan, you will be responsible for the charges with the service.
Resource: Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills
Co-Pays
The patient is expected to present an insurance card at each visit. All co-payments and past due balances are due at the time of check-in unless previous arrangements have been made with a billing specialist. We accept cash, check, or credit cards. Absolutely no post-dated checks will be accepted. Failure to comply with our copay policy will result in a canceled appointment.
Insurance Claims
Insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company. In most cases, we are not a party of this contract. We will bill your primary and secondary insurance company as a courtesy to you. In order to properly bill your insurance, we require that you disclose all insurance information, including your primary and secondary insurance coverage, as well as any change of insurance information. Failure to provide complete insurance information may result in the patient’s responsibility for the entire bill. Although we may estimate what your insurance company may pay, it is the insurance company that makes the final determination of your eligibility and benefits. If your insurance company is not contracted with us, you agree to pay any portion of the charges not covered by insurance, including but not limited to those charges above the usual and customary allowance. If we are out of network for your insurance company and your insurance pays you directly, you are responsible for payment and agree to forward the payment to us immediately.
Participating Insurances
If your insurance plan is one with which we are not a participating provider, you will be responsible for payment in full at the time of service. However, as a courtesy, we will file your initial insurance claim.
Referrals and Preauthorization
Certain health insurances (HMOs, POS, etc.) require that you obtain a referral or prior authorization from your Primary Care Physician (PCP) before visiting a specialist. If your insurance company requires a referral and/or preauthorization, you are responsible for obtaining it. Failure to obtain a referral and/or preauthorization may result in a lower or no payment from the insurance company, and the balance will be your responsibility. Alternative payment arrangements or rescheduling of your appointment may be necessary if not obtained.
Self-Paying Accounts
Self-paying accounts are patients without insurance coverage, patients covered by insurance plans in which our practice does not participate, or patients without an insurance card on file with us. Liability and workers’ comp cases will also be considered self-pay accounts. We do not accept attorney letters or contingency payments. It is always the patient’s responsibility to know if our office is participating in their plan. If there is a discrepancy with our information, the patient will be considered self-paying unless otherwise proven.
Self-paying patients will be required to pay $366.00 at the initial appointment. In the event your provider carries out additional procedures/tests, you will be required to pay for those at the time of check out.
Follow up Appointments
Our office does offer self-pay patients a discount of 25% if paid the day of. If unable to pay the same day we do require a payment plan and will have you speak to a billing specialist to set up a payment plan. It is never our intention to cause hardship to our patients, only to provide them with the best care possible and the least amount of stress.
Surgery Prepayments
Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC collects your payment for surgery at the time when the surgery is scheduled. Your prepayment is based on an estimate of your expected financial responsibility. This is an estimate only. You are responsible for any unpaid balance after your insurance has been billed. We reserve the right to reschedule your surgery until prepayment has been made.
Cancellation
All patients will receive an automated notification (email, text, or phone call) 72 hours prior to the scheduled visit as a reminder. Please note, that as time has been reserved for you, we require a 24-hour notice for all canceled appointments. When patients do not show up as scheduled it is disruptive to the provider, staff, and other patients. We respect your time and appreciate your understanding in this manner.
For a patient who cancels within less than 24 hours of notification or does not show up for their scheduled appointment a non-refundable charge will be assessed to the patient’s account based on the type of appointment:
X-Ray $75.00
Established Patient Visit $100.00
Procedures/Imaging: CT and Ultrasound/Urodynamic $250.00
New Patient Visit $300.00
Vasectomies require a 2-business day cancelation. If the procedure is canceled with less notice, the patient will forfeit their $350 deposit (this is explained in detail in the vasectomy paperwork and consent).
This fee is non-billable to insurance plans.
Insurance
We are aware that understanding the intricacies of medical insurance can be difficult. Our staff can help answer general questions regarding insurance plans, but ultimately it is your responsibility to know the specifics of your health insurance plan. You are expected to satisfy any co-payment obligations required by your insurance carrier at the time services are provided to you. If you are unable to pay your insurance plan’s required co-payment in the full amount at the time of your visit, your appointment will be canceled, and you will be charged a late cancelation fee. This co-pay is established by your insurance plan and not a function of Comprehensive Urologic Care.
For patients with a PPO plan, please check to make sure that we participate with your plan. If we are in-network, we will bill your primary and secondary insurance carriers. You are responsible for deductibles and percent payment as stipulated by your plan. If we do not participate in your plan, we can see you on an out-of-network basis. Review your plan coverage for out-of-network benefits.
Patients with an HMO plan, patients are responsible for obtaining a referral for office visits and procedures. If you do not have a referral that is current, you cannot be seen in the office unless you assume financial responsibility for the services provided. Our staff may be able to assist you in obtaining a referral when needed. We will bill your insurance carrier.
Our practice participates in the Medicare program. Patients are responsible for deductibles and 20% of contracted amounts. Our practice participates with some Medicare replacement plans commonly known as Medicare Advantage Plans.
Telephone Calls
We attempt to answer all calls with a live person during regular business hours. After hours, we utilize an answering service. An on-call physician is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day for emergency calls. Please do not leave urgent messages in a voicemail or on the answering machine. All urgent messages need to be addressed by our office staff or the on-call physician.
Health Assistant Calls
Our staff has been trained to provide instructions about ongoing medical care and pre/post-operative instructions. A health assistant can give test results but cannot provide interpretation or analysis of these results.
Telephone Consults
If a call requires a physician to initiate or coordinate care and you cannot or do not want to come to the office to have these services provided, you will be billed at a rate of $50/10 minutes. This type of care is not covered by insurance plans and, therefore, you will be required to pay for this at the time it is rendered by submitting credit card information when you make the appointment.
Delays
Our physicians and staff make every effort to remain on schedule throughout the day; however, emergencies arise and on occasion, a patient’s care requires more time than allotted for his/her visit. The may lead to delays. Our front desk will inform you if the physician is running behind. If you cannot, or do not want to wait, you may reschedule for later in the day or on a new day.
For patients who are running late, please notify the front desk as soon as possible. We will work you into the schedule when you arrive. The front desk will let you know how long you may have to wait. If you prefer, you may reschedule.
Refills
You may request additional medication refills by having your pharmacy contact our office. We will authorize additional refills as long as your physician has seen you in the past 12 months. If you have not had a visit in the last 12 months, it is required that you have an appointment scheduled with your physician in the next four weeks from the date of your request. (A physician will determine if additional refills will be authorized.) This authorization will be provided during regular business hours and will generally be provided without a charge to you; however, when a physician provides you with a new prescription, or more substantial clinical decision-making rather than a refill authorization, a charge may apply. It is not the responsibility of the on-call physician to authorize medication refills after hours. If you absolutely require a refill authorization after hours, you will be charged a $50 fee. Narcotic refills will not be authorized after business hours.
Prescriptions
Your physician may prescribe medications for you that he or she believes will best treat your condition. When selecting your medication, your physician takes into account your past medical history, the potential side effects of the medication, any interactions with other medications, the effectiveness of the drug as stated in its clinical trials, as well as his or her observation of the drug results in other patients with similar conditions. Your physician will consider a generic alternative to a brand name when it is available and appropriate.
If, for any reason, you find that your prescribed medication is not right for you, including the cost of the medication, you may arrange for a telephone consultation with your physician to discuss a medication change. Your insurance company will not cover consultations over the phone, and you will be responsible for any charges incurred.
We have found that insurance companies and pharmacies may try to substitute a medicine that is financially better for them but does not take into consideration what is best for your health. Other insurances may try to ration the medications they provide by requiring our staff and your physician to complete lengthy forms. There is a $25.00 processing fee to complete any pre-authorization or appeal on your behalf for medication.
Download Our Privacy Policy or view here.
Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations
Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC participating in Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care, Inc. , an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). An ACO is a group of doctors, hospitals, and/or other health care providers that work together to improve the quality and experience of care you receive. ACOs receive a portion of any savings that result from reducing costs and meeting quality requirements.
View or download the complete Beneficiary Information Notice.