Our Financial Policies
Concerns or Questions? Call our Business Office at (518) 434-1456, x3280.
Welcome to Certified Allergy & Asthma Consultants
Certified Allergy & Asthma Consultants (the Practice) is pleased to have you as a patient and is dedicated to providing quality, accessible and cost-effective health care. This document is designed to provide our patients with an explanation of our financial policies. Should this information not address your specific situation or if you have questions or concerns about your account, we encourage you to speak with a member of our Billing Office staff.
Within this policy, the word “patient” can mean the patient of the practice or, in the case of minor children, the patient’s parent or guardian.
No-Show & Cancellation Policy and Fees
When a patient does not cancel an appointment, it may prevent other patients from receiving the care they need, as well as financially impacting the practice. Certified Allergy will assess a fee for no-show appointments that were not canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice. These fees are subject to change.
- $25 for Office Visits
- $50 for Food or Medication Challenge appointments & Skin Test appointments
Cancellation must be made by telephone during business hours, via the patient portal or via response to digital confirmation communications.
No-show or late cancellation fees may be waived at the discretion of the Practice for documented emergencies or severe weather events.
No-show and late cancellation fees are not billable to insurance and are the patient’s financial responsibility.
Patients who fail to keep three or more appointments in a 12-month period, without at least 24 hours’ notice of cancellation, may be discharged from the Practice at the discretion of the patient’s provider.
Participation with Insurance Companies
We have contractual agreements with many insurance companies and also participate with Medicare and New York Medicaid. We will bill these organizations in accordance with the terms of our contracts. Certified Allergy reserves the right to determine which insurance companies or programs we participate with on an annual basis.
Our Services and Insurance Plan Coverage
Insurance coverage for allergy and asthma testing and treatment varies by insurance company and insurance plan. If you have questions regarding the extent to which your insurance plan will cover our services, please contact your insurance company or our Billing Office prior to your visit. Common services provided by Certified Allergy can include an office visit, skin testing, pulmonary function testing, ingestion challenges and allergy immunotherapy.
Patients Without Insurance
For our uninsured patients, payment in full is due at the time of service, unless other payment arrangements have been made in advance with our Billing Office. Uninsured or self-pay patients have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges under federal law.
General Insurance Policy
By receiving services, you authorize the Practice to bill your insurance carrier and assign payment of medical benefits directly to the Practice. We will file claims with your insurance carrier provided we have your current insurance policy information available. Insurance benefits cannot be guaranteed by the Practice. Ultimately, you are responsible for payment to the Practice. You should resolve disputed coverage issues directly with your insurer or employer. It is your responsibility to know the details of your insurance contract and whether our physicians are network providers for your plan.
Most insurance companies agree to pay only a portion of the charges with the remaining balance being the responsibility of the patient. Because of policy deductibles, co-insurance, co-payments and possibly non-covered services, you may have a balance due after your insurance company processes your claims.
Co-payments
Co-payments and deposits will be collected at the time of your visit. Please check with your insurance company regarding any specialist co-pay requirements.
Deductibles and Co-Insurance
Many insurance plans now include annual deductibles requiring patients and their families to pay for medical services up to a specified dollar amount before the insurance company will pay for any medical services. Patients enrolled in high-deductible health plans may be responsible for the full contracted rate until their deductible is met. Once the annual deductible has been met, patients may still be responsible for fixed co-payments or a percentage of costs (co-insurance). Deductible and co-insurance balances for our services will be determined by your insurance company when they process your claims. Patients with unmet deductibles may be asked to pay a deposit at the time of their visit depending on the nature of the visit.
Forms of Payment Accepted
We accept cash, check, debit cards, and all major credit cards. In addition, you can pay balances due on your account securely via credit card using the Online Bill Pay link on our website (certifiedallergy.com).
Statements and Payment Expectations
The Practice uses PayMyDoctor.com for patient statements and online payments. Statements are generated daily with initial notifications of new statements sent by text message and email to the guarantor on the patient’s account. Paper statements are only mailed if payment is not made following the digital communications. It is the patient’s responsibility to maintain current contact and insurance information with the Practice. Failure to receive statements does not relieve financial responsibility. Accounts unpaid after 30 days may be considered past due and subject to collection procedures. Accounts unpaid after 30 days may be considered past due. Accounts remaining unpaid after reasonable notification attempts may be referred to an outside collection agency. We maintain separate accounts for each patient and generate statements for each patient’s account.
General Credit Policies and Payment Plans
If you know that you will not be able to pay your bill, please contact our Billing Office at (518) 434-1446 to discuss payment options which may be available to you. The PayMyDoctor.com platform allows for creation of payment plans within certain limits. Financial hardship assistance may be available upon request.
Balance Collection Efforts and Discharge for Non-Payment
If you have an outstanding past due balance we may send your account to an outside collection agency to assist us in contacting you and obtaining payment. All collection activity will comply with New York State consumer protection and medical debt collection laws. If your account is turned over to our outside collection agency due to non-payment, you will be discharged from our care and receive notice of such discharge. Emergency care will not be denied. Upon discharge, we will provide care for urgent conditions for 30 days to allow transition to another provider.
Financial Responsibility
For patients 18 or older, the responsible party is presumed to be the patient. If another party is responsible for a patient’s medical costs, please provide us with that person’s name and contact information. In the case of minor children, we will presume that either of the child’s parents is financially responsible for the costs of their medical care unless we are provided with information that specifically designates one parent as the responsible party (see next paragraph).
Families Divided by Separation or Divorce
The Practice is not responsible for enforcing divorce decrees or custody agreements. We understand that families divided by separation or divorce may have specific billing requirements. All efforts will be made to comply with these requirements if they are known to us in advance. The Practice will not delay care or billing pending resolution of domestic disputes. We will attempt to collect any account balances from the parent designated as the responsible party. That person will receive account statements and other correspondence regarding the child’s account status.
Allergy Immunotherapy Extract
Because allergy immunotherapy extracts are custom prepared for each patient and cannot be used for another individual, they are non-refundable once mixed and billed, even if treatment is discontinued.
Referrals
If your insurance plan requires a referral from your Primary Care Provider (PCP) for specialist services to be provided by our Practice, it is your responsibility to obtain the referral for the appropriate dates of service. Failure to obtain a valid referral for our services in advance may result in denial of coverage by your insurance company. The balance of charges due on those services will become your responsibility at the time of denial by the insurance company.
Bounced Checks
If your bank returns your check payment to us due to insufficient funds in your account, we will charge you a bounced check fee of $25.
Thank you for understanding our Financial Policy. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Effective Date: March 1, 2026