General Billing Questions
How to Contact Us
Online
Use our
online bill payment service to conveniently pay your bill online.
By Phone
206.543.8606 or 1.888.234.5467 M–F, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
By Fax
206.221.6266
By Mail
Our address for payments is:
PO Box 34115
Seattle, WA 98124-1115
Our address for written correspondence is:
PO Box 50095
Seattle, WA 98058
Our physical address is:
501 Eastlake Ave East Ste. 400
Seattle, WA 98109
Can I mail my payment without my statement stub?
We strongly encourage you to include your statement stub with your payment. This ensures that your payment will be applied correctly to your account. As you can imagine, we receive many payments each day. We rely on the statement stub to provide the information we need to properly apply the payment received to the correct account.
However, if you have lost your statement stub and cannot include it, please include your account number or invoice number on the memo line of your check to help us properly apply your payment to your account.
Why am I getting a bill for a doctor I never saw? The date is correct, but I was treated by a different doctor.
Since we are an academic medical center, we have different types of healthcare practitioners who provide services to patients but may not be noted on your bill. For example, you may have been seen by a
resident or fellow who is supervised by an attending physician. Only the name of the attending physician is noted on your bill.
In another example, x-rays may have been evaluated by a physician that you never personally met; her/his name will appear for those services.
Why am I getting two or more bills?
UWP Physicians provide services primarily in facilities owned and operated by its Harborview Medical Center (HMC), UW Medical Center (UWMC), , UW Neighborhood Clinics and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA).
What this means for you is:
Clinic/Outpatient Visits – Because HMC, UWMC, and SCCA own the clinics at which UW Physicians practice, you may receive two bills when you receive care at these facilities (including the Eastside and Roosevelt Clinics). UWP will bill for the “professional” services provided by your physician. The hospitals or SCCA will bill for the “facility” services, which include the use of space, equipment, nursing staff, & supplies.
If you receive your care at a UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinic, you will receive only one bill. This is because, unlike the hospital-based and SCCA clinics, UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics own and operate their clinics. Therefore, the fees charged on the single bill you receive reflect both physician and non-physician expenses associated with your care.
UW Physicians are also increasingly seeing patients at clinics located on the Northwest Hospital or Valley Medical Center campuses. In general, these clinics are like the UW Neighborhood Clinics, in that a single bill includes both the physician and non-physician expenses. There are, however, a few exceptions, as UWMC and SCCA operate clinics at the Northwest Hospital location. For these clinics, two bills are generated.
Inpatient Services – When you require inpatient care, the hospitals will bill you for the all of the non-physician services you receive when you were in the hospital. This includes your room, meals, nursing services, medical supplies, medications, etc. UWP will bill you for the services you received from your physician(s).
Ambulatory Surgery – The hospital will bill you for the services related to the operating room, nursing care, pre and post operative room, medications, etc. UWP will bill you for the services provided by your surgeon, anesthesiologist, and any other physician involved in your care.
I can’t afford to pay my bill. What can I do?
UWP is committed to working with you to resolve your account balances. If you feel you are unable to pay in full, please call Customer Service to speak with someone about options for resolving your account.
Why are you just now billing my insurance when my services occurred some time ago?
UWP makes every effort to bill your services in a timely manner, however, in certain circumstances, such as changes in insurance coverage, coordination of benefits can delay billing.
Why doesn’t my bill show my last visit or the co-payment I paid at the time of service?
Generally, this is a matter of timing; the statement was sent before we could get this information entered into our billing system. These payments should be noted on your next bill.
Why was a charge changed/removed from my statement?
UWP or your insurance company may have identified an error which required correction. If you have specific questions, please contact Customer Service (see the contact information above).
Why are you billing me? I have coverage that should pay for this.
If your coverage
is not listed in the message box on your statement please call
Customer Service (see contact information above) so we can update your information.
Or,
If the coverage
is listed on your statement and you
have not received an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance company, please call
Customer Service (see contact information above) to verify that UWP has the correct information.
Or,
If the coverage
is listed on your statement and you
have received an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance company,
please contact them to determine why they did not pay in full.
Can you e-mail me with answers to my questions that may contain my personal information?
Your privacy is our utmost concern. We have strict policies and procedures to ensure that we maintain your privacy. Because we do not, at this time, have the ability to communicate with you via a secure e-mail process, we are not able to answer billing questions via e-mail.
I called my insurance company and they told me that you may have billed the claim(s) incorrectly and said that you may need to re-bill.
Please contact Customer Service. They will review the charges and medical records for the service/s in question and initiate the rebilling process, if necessary.
Collection Agency Questions
I got a notice indicating that you sent my account to a collection agency. Why didn’t you bill my insurance?
It is very likely we do not have your correct insurance information. Our practice is to always bill insurance before pursuing payment from patients. Please contact Customer Service to provide them with your insurance information so that we may bill them.
I just got a notice from a collection agency, and I can’t afford to pay my bill – isn’t there something you can do to help me?
As noted above, UWP is committed to working with you to resolve your account balances. If you feel you are unable to pay in full, please call Customer Service to speak with someone about options for resolving your account.
Why did you send me to collections when I have been making monthly payments on my account?
As noted on your statements, your balance is due, in full, at the time of billing. Our billing system requires a formal payment plan to be entered to prevent a patient’s account from being referred to collections. Please contact customer service to discuss your options.
Confidential Financial Questions
Why are you sending me a bill for these charges? The facility has given me a charity discount for my care.
UW Physicians will honor charity granted by the facility. Please contact our billing office as we may not have received notice of the charity allowance. We will update our system accordingly.