Policies

As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines, but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

• We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.
• We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.
• We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP).
• We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
• We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities. 
• We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can support as parents/caregivers.

The recommended vaccines and the schedule of administration are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2019, with 1282 cases from 31 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases(NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that by not vaccinating your child, you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that a child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable. Even delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over additional visits goes against expert recommendations, is not supported by any scientific data, can lead to unnecessary delays and errors, and can put your child, other children, and adults at risk for serious illness (or even death). It is therefore against our medical advice as professionals at Birmingham Pediatric Associates.

INSURANCE: We participate with most insurance plans, except Medicaid, Tricare and ChampVA. If you are not insured by a plan we participate in, payment in full is required at each visit. If you are insured by a plan with which we participate but still need an up-to-date insurance card, payment in full is required at each visit until we can verify your coverage. Knowing your insurance benefits is your responsibility. Please get in touch with your insurance company with any questions you may have regarding your coverage provisions.

PROOF OF INSURANCE: All patients must provide proof of insurance at the time of service. If you fail to promptly provide us with the correct insurance information, you will be responsible for the balance of a claim.

CO-PAYMENTS: All co-payments are due at the time of service via cash, check, or credit card. If a personal check is returned or unpaid from your bank, your account will be charged a returned check fee.  $15.00 will be added to account for any copay’s not collected at the time of service.

DEDUCTIBLES: If your insurance plan is subject to routine deductibles and co-insurance, we require you to keep a CREDIT CARD ON FILE so we can collect those charges as soon as your insurance carrier assigns the appropriate amount of patient responsibility.

NEWBORNS:  Newborns must be added to insurance within 30 days, otherwise they will be considered self-pay. 

SELF-PAY: Self-pay patient are expected to pay at the time of service and have credit card on file.

RETURN CHECK FEE: A $40.00 fee for returned checks will be assessed to your account.

NON-COVERED SERVICES: Please be aware that your insurance company may not cover some of the services your child receives during their visit with us. The providers at Birmingham Pediatric Associates follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recognized standards for well and sick care. If a service is provided to your child but not covered by your insurance, you will be responsible for the resulting charge.

INSURANCE COVERAGE OF WELL VISITS PLUS PROBLEM-BASED VISITS: Well visits may uncover new problems, issues, or illnesses that require additional evaluation or management beyond the typical well visit (ex., ear infections, new onset asthma, anxiety/depression, other new concerns). In addition, if your child has very complex chronic healthcare needs, your provider may spend a significant amount of extra time addressing those issues beyond what is typical for a routine well visit. In these situations, your insurance may be charged a problem-based office visit and a well-visit. While well visits may not require a co-pay/deductible, problem-based visits typically do require a co-pay/deductible payment, and, as a result, you will be responsible for that charge.

INSURANCE COVERAGE OF WELL-VISIT SCREENING TESTS: In general, well-visit charges are covered by most insurance companies. However, the cost of screening tests done during a well-visit may or may not be covered. During your child’s well visit, your provider will perform various health screenings recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures Guidelines and considered standard of care in pediatrics. Some insurance companies cover these screenings fully, some apply the cost to the deductible, and others do not cover the cost of the screening tests at all. As a result, you may have responsibility for some of the well-visit charges. Here are some examples of well-visit screening tests that are done in our office:

Screening tests include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Edinburgh Post-Partum Screening
• Ages and Stages Questionnaire (developmental screening)
• MCHAT (autism screening)
• PSC-17 and PHQ-9 (mental health screening questionnaires)
• CHADIS
• Hemoglobin (anemia screen)
• Lead poisoning screen
• Vision screening: Photo-screening (infants, toddlers, young children)
• Hearing screening
• TB screening questionnaire and, if positive, PPD placement
• Brenner FIT questionnaire, Transition readiness questionnaire, and others depending on risk
• Urinalysis
• CBC

NONPAYMENT: All statements balances are due upon receipt. Please be aware that if a balance remains unpaid, we may need to refer your account to a collection agency, and you and your immediate family members may be discharged from our practice. Should this occur, you will be notified by mail that you will have 30 days to find alternative medical care. During that 30-day period, our providers can only treat you for ongoing and emergency care.

AFTER HOURS CALL: There is a $15.00 charge for all calls after hours.

Holiday/Weekend/Afterhours Charge: There will be an “afterhours” charge $28.00 added to any visit that is not during our normal operating hours.  This includes visits after 4:30 PM, weekends, and federal holidays.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS/LATE CANCELLATIONS: We reserve the right to charge $25.00 for missed appointments and canceled same day as appointment.  These charges will be your responsibility and will be billed directly to you. Please help us to serve you better by keeping your scheduled appointment or by cancelling it before the day of the scheduled visit. An excessive number of missed appointments will result in discharge from the practice.

RECORD COPYING FEE: If you transfer out of our practice, we will provide you or your new provider with a copy of your records free of charge. Any subsequent requests, legal requests, or other requests will be charged at a rate of

$32.00 per hour or $8.00 for 15 minutes, plus $0.06 cents per page for paper, plus postage if mailed.   

$0.00 if transmitted through the patient portal.

$25 fee to have chart pulled from storage.

3/2025

• Notice of Privacy Practices

• Notice of Privacy Practices - Espanol