Our Patient Advocate Team Is Here To Help.

We understand medical billing can be very confusing. At Austin Emergency Center, we strive to be fair and transparent with your medical bill. We want to help you understand the bills you receive from us, which may be different from medical bills you’ve received from hospitals or physicians. Because of this, we set up a team dedicated to helping you resolve any issues with your bill – a team that is trained to help with everything related your service including insurance issues, billing disputes, physician complaints, and any other service related problems. We are here to help.

What is a Patient Advocate?

A Patient Advocate Department has a vital role in the healthcare system. A Patient Advocate is someone who will:

  • Support You.
  • Believe You.
  • Champion Your Rights.
  • Speak Up for You.
  • Guide You Through the Process of Dealing with Your Insurance Company.

The members of our Patient Advocate Department are extraordinary people, they are caring and charismatic and will help you and your family navigate through all the complicated aspects of your visit to our centers. Our Patient Advocate team will be happy to help you through the process at patientadvocate@austiner.com or 512-674-0380. Office hours are 8AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday. No Surprises Act – Patient Rights For Surprise/Balance Billing.

Our Billing Process

At the time of your visit, your emergency room co-pay will be collected. After your visit, two separate claims will be mailed to your insurance company; one for the facility and one for the physician. Your insurance company will NOT be charged separately for radiology, pathology, or cardiology reports, as is the case with hospital-based ERs. Instead, these charges are included in your facility bill. Please note: AEC is not in-network with any insurance benefit plans, however, your health insurance company is required by law to process emergency ER visits at an in-network benefit level.

Ask us for information on our Prompt Pay Discount. We accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards; including Visa, MasterCard, AMEX and Discover Card.

NOTE: Emergency rooms must maintain an extremely high level of preparedness to effectively treat emergency medical conditions and ensure you have access to the best in emergency care. Therefore, emergency rooms charge a facility fee for each patient visit to help offset the recurring costs associated with maintaining this level of preparedness that is much higher than traditional medical facilities. The facility fee is a charge that is calculated on several different factors and criteria by patient. Acuity level is determined based on; review of patient symptoms, history, physical information, severity of presenting issue, and necessary medical decisions made by the physician for any underlying issues (based on the information given as well as results of procedures and testing performed). These are graded as minimal, moderate and high severity.

About a month after your office visit, you will receive an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance provider. You can review the EOB to fully understand your benefits; it explains what care you have received, what your insurance plan has paid and what your anticipated responsibility is (what you can expect to be billed). Your EOB is NOT a bill.

After applying your insurance provider’s benefit, if there is a remaining balance, AEC will send you a bill. This normally arrives 2-4 weeks after you receive the EOB. As a result of possible in-network adjustments, this bill might be less than what your EOB had shown.

If you have any questions regarding your bill, please contact our dedicated Patient Advocate that will be happy to help you through the process at patientadvocate@austiner.com or 512-674-0380. Office hours are 8AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday. We will work with you quickly to resolve any differences.

We look forward to serving you in the future.

Download our Model Disclosure Notice.