Charity Care is available to Alta Bates Summit patients. If you believe you may qualify, please ask for information at the registration desk, or call and speak with one of our Financial Counselors based on the location of your care:

Alta Bates or Herrick Campuses
Berkeley, CA
(510) 204-4197

Summit Campus
Oakland, CA
(510) 869-8970

• Important Billing Information for Uninsured Patients
• Uninsured Patient Discounts
• Payment Options
• Notice of Availability of Financial Estimates

Important Billing Information for Uninsured Patients

The hospital is legally obligated to provide this form to all patients, whether they are insured or uninsured.

Thank you for choosing Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for your hospital services. This text is designed to help our uninsured patients understand our billing process, payment options, and services available. Uninsured patients are patients who have no health insurance or third-party payer source to assist with the payment of their hospital bill. This information applies only to your hospital bill and does not include any bills received from physicians, anesthesiologists, clinical professionals, ambulance companies, etc. that may bill you separately for their services.

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Uninsured Patient Discounts

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center offers a 60% discount off of hospital inpatient charges and a 44% discount off of outpatient charges at time of billing. An itemized bill reflecting your discount will be mailed to the address obtained at time of registration five to seven days after the service/ discharge date. Please review your bill and contact us if you have any questions.

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Payment Options

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center has many options to assist you with payment of your hospital bill.

Prompt-pay Discount: Alta Bates Summit Medical Center offers a prompt-pay discount option to our uninsured patients. If your account is paid in full within 30 days of your bill date you will receive an additional 20% discount off of the balance due.

Payment Plans: Patient account balances are due upon receipt. Patients may elect to make payment arrangements for their hospital bill. A Financial Agreement must be signed before the Patient Financial Services Office can accept payment arrangements that allow patients to pay their hospital bills over time. These arrangements are interest-free for low income uninsured patients and certain income-eligible patients with high medical costs.

Medi-Cal & Government Program Eligibility: You may be eligible for a government-sponsored health benefit program. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center has staff available to assist you with applying for government assistance like Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and California Children’s Services to pay your hospital bill. This facility also contracts with a company that may assist you further, if needed.

Healthy Families: You may obtain information about Healthy Families (California’s low-cost, comprehensive medical, dental and vision care insurance program) by contacting the Financial Counseling Office.

Financial Assistance Program (Charity Care): Uninsured patients who have an inability to pay their bill may be eligible for financial assistance. Eligibility for financial assistance is based on income and family size. All potential payer sources must be exhausted before a patient is eligible for financial assistance.

Copies of this hospital’s Uninsured Patient Discount Policy, Prompt Pay Discount Policy, Charity Care Policy, as well as government program applications are available at Patient Registration and our Patient Financial Services Office. We can also send you copies if you contact our Patient Financial Services Office at 510-869-6591.

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Notice of Availability of Financial Estimates

You may request a written estimate of your financial responsibility for hospital services. Requests for estimates must be made during business hours. The estimate will provide you with an estimate of the amount the hospital will require the patient to pay for health care services, procedures, and supplies that are reasonably expected to be provided by the hospital.

Estimates are based on the average length of stay and services provided for the patient’s diagnosis. They are not promises to provide services at fixed costs. A patient’s financial responsibility may be more or less than the estimate based on the services the patient actually receives.

The hospital can provide estimates of the amount of hospital services only. There may be additional charges for services that will be provided by physicians during a patient’s stay in the hospital, such as bills from personal physicians, and any anesthesiologists, pathologists, radiologists, ambulance companies or other medical professionals who are not employees of the hospital. Patients will receive a separate bill for these services.

If you have any questions about written estimates, please contact the Financial Counseling Office at the campus where you received (or will receive) care:

Alta Bates or Herrick Campuses
Berkeley, CA
(510) 204-4197

Summit Campus
Oakland, CA
(510) 869-8930

If you have any questions, or if you would like to pay by telephone, please contact the Patient Financial Services Office for Alta Bates Summit Medical Center at 510-869-6591.

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