Billing and Customer Service

Thank you for visiting Methodist Medical Center. We are committed to providing excellent care and excellent customer service.

Our Patient Accounting Department is ready to help you with any questions or concerns you may have about your patient account. We appreciate the opportunity to share helpful information about our patient accounting process.

Billing Procedures

• After your visit, your bill is processed and submitted as a claim to insurance companies or other applicable payers listed on your account.
• Based on the information given at the time of your visit, each applicable insurance company/payer will process and pay according to the terms of your policy and/or agreements with the hospital.
• If you have insurance coverage information that was not provided at the time of your visit, please call our Patient Accounting Office immediately at 865-374-3000 so we can update your account. This is important because insurance companies often have strict guidelines for timely claim submission.
• After we receive final payment from your insurance company, we will send you a statement indicating that all insurance benefits have been paid. Any remaining balance is your responsibility.
• If you are uninsured and there is no other party responsible to pay for your services, your bill will indicate a discount based on your uninsured status.
• Full payment is expected within 30 days for the amount that is your responsibility or the balance remaining after insurance payment.
• If you are unable to pay the remaining balance in full, please contact our office immediately to make arrangements for payment. If payment is not received within 30 days or payment arrangements have not been made, you will receive a final notice letter explaining that the account will be referred to collections.
• If you are unable to meet your financial responsibility and have exhausted all other sources of payment, you may qualify for our financial assistance program. This program requires an application and supporting documents to help us evaluate your financial status. For more information about the Financial Assistance process, please call our Patient Accounting Office at 865-374-3000.
• Click here to access the Financial Assistance Policy and Application for our acute care hospitals and Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, or go to the hospital’s website and select the Patients & Visitors link at the top of the home page. From the Patients & Visitors page, select the Financial Assistance link from the list on the right side of the page. This link will take you to financial assistance information and the application (in English and Spanish).
• To access the Financial Assistance Policy and Application for Peninsula Hospital, go to the Peninsula website and select the Services link at the top of the home page. From the Services page, select the Financial Assistance link from the Support & Spiritual Health list. You will find financial assistance information and application links (English and Spanish) on that page.

We accept a variety of payment options including cash, checks, MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover.

Understanding Your Statement

The statement you receive from our hospital advises you of the status of your hospital account. Please contact us with any questions about your account balance.

• Each visit to Methodist Medical Center will generate a new account number, which will help you follow specific accounts through the billing process.
• Statements will not include any physician charges. Professional charges for the emergency department physician, radiologist, cardiologist, pathologist, anesthesia, and all other specialty physicians are billed separately by the physician’s office. These charges are NOT considered part of the hospital bill.