Appointments
Office visits are by appointment. When you make an appointment, tell the receptionist why you need to see the physician so that we can schedule enough time for your visit. All conversations with our staff are kept confidential. For urgent problems, call our office and we will arrange to see you as soon as possible.
For Adult Physicals, we respectfully request that you do not bring children to your appointment.
Our physicians and nurse practitioner function as a group. It is in your best interest to see your provider whenever you come to the clinic. However, with our group concept, you and your family can choose to see one of our other group providers if your provider is out of the office or delayed by an emergency. We believe the relationship between you and your provider is very important.
Yelm Family Medicine is equipped to handle most medical emergencies, with the exception of the most severe life threatening ones. Emergencies are seen at any time during regular business hours. Occasionally patients who have appointments are forced to wait because of an emergency in the clinic. We hope that you will bear with us if this happens to you. If you have an emergency you should call 911 immediately.
After Hours
If you have a medical emergency after clinic hours, that does not require you to contact 911, you can reach our answering service at (360) 570-7744. The answering service will inform you which provider is on call and will reach that provider for you. The provider on call will return your emergency call as soon as possible. If extensive consultation is required, a fee may be charged.
If your telephone does not accept blocked calls, you must deactivate this function in order for the on-call provider to reach you.
Payment Options
If we do not contract with your insurance company, it is our policy to collect payment at the time of check-in. Any outstanding balances will be requested during patient check-in. We do offer a 20 percent cash discount when your visit is paid in full at the time of service.
We accept the following methods of payment:
Mastercard
Visa
Discover
Cash
Check
See our “financial policy” for more payment information.
Co-Pays
Co-Payments are a part of your contract with your insurance carrier and are due at the time of service. We will collect your co-payment when you check in for your appointment. If you are not prepared to pay your co-pay, we may require you to reschedule your visit.
Insurance
Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance carrier. Please review and understand your insurance benefits. Do not assume your policy covers all your medical care. Different policies from the same carrier have different benefits and/or requirements. It is ultimately the patient’s responsibility to know what his/her individual policy covers. You should always have your insurance card. We need it for verification at all office visits. Without this information we may need to ask you to reschedule your appointment.
Your health plan mandates that you are financially responsible for all co-pays, deductibles and non-covered services. Yelm Family Medicine is contractually obligated to collect these fees.
The following is a list of health plans we are contracted with. These contracted health plans are subject to change. Due to constant changes with healthcare, we recommend that you verify with your insurance that they are still contracted with us.
Aetna
Cigna
First Choice Health Network (Your card must have the First Choice Health Network logo on it)
Premera Blue Cross *
Premera Blue Cross Medicare Advantage
Humana Medicare Advantage
Regence Blue Shield * (includes Uniform Medical Plan)
United Health Care
US Family Health PlanLabor and Industries (Washington Only) – We are not accepting new back or neck injuries for workers compensation claims
* We do not contract with:
Regence Healthy Options
Regence Basic Health
Regence MedAdvantage
Coordinated Care
Amerigroup
ESTABLISHED PATIENTS ONLY:
Tricare For Life
AARP Medicare Complete Medicare Advantage (Including United Healthcare Medicare Advantage)
Tricare West (Health Net Federal Services)
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Automobile and Homeowners insurance is an individual contract between the insurance company and the insured. Yelm Family Medicine holds no direct contract with any automobile or homeowners insurance company. If you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and we contract with your medical insurance we will bill your auto insurance for your visit. We do not bill third party. The following information is needed when billing for a MVA.
1) The insurance name and billing address.
2) The policy number and claim number
3) The claim adjuster’s name and phone number