Insurance

Please make sure that any referrals or pre-authorizations required by your insurance have been obtained in advance of the service. To check if a referral has been generated for your visit you can call 617-573-3245. All referrals from your primary care physicians should be faxed to our fax number 617-573-3473 in Central Registration.

Please make sure that any referrals or pre-authorizations required by your insurance have been obtained in advance of the service. If you are unable to obtain a referral at the time of service you will be asked to sign an insurance waiver and assume responsibility for your bill until the necessary data is obtained by the Hospital.

Some details that will help you to prepare for your appointment:

• Co-payments will be collected at time of service.
• A pre-registration line 617-573-4200 is available to all patients who would like to register before their scheduled appointments.
• You will be asked to sign the Notice of Privacy which is a HIPAA Regulation and will be given a brochure explaining the contents of the notice.
• Each patient receives a (MEEI) Blue Embossed Hospital Card that identifies them in our hospital system.

Insurance Plans

MEEI participates with Medicare, Mass Health, many commercial carriers and the following managed care plans:

• Aetna/US Healthcare
• Blue Cross managed care products (HMO Blue, Blue Choice, Blue Care Elect PPO)
• Children's Medical Security
• Cigna
• First Health (Healthcare Value Management)
• Harvard First Seniority
• Harvard Pilgrm
• Neighborhood Health
• Network Health
• Private Healthcare Systems
• Tufts Medicare Preferred
• Tufts Health Plan Products
• Unicare (Commonwealth of MA employees)
• United Healthcare

You should check with your insurance carrier to see if our facility and physician are in the network for your particular insurance plan. If Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary is not in your network then you will need a referral from your physician to receive insurance plan covered services here. If you find out that your plan requires a referral from your primary care physician, and the primary care physician does not give you a referral prior to being seen here, your insurance will not cover the services and the visit will be billed to you individually (self pay).

International, cosmetic and self pay patients are asked to provide a deposit based on an estimate of charges. The balance of payment is due upon discharge. All charges and payments will be based on the current exchange rate for US currency. If your procedure is not covered by insurance, an MEEI financial counselor will be happy to work out a payment plan with you. The financial counselors are located in the Lobby area of the hospital.

Hospital Fees

Your hospital bill will include charges for all hospital services including operating and recovery room costs, nursing and technical personnel and supplies. It may also include charges of services requested by your physician such as laboratory tests, radiology, drugs, supplies, therapies, and consultations. Your surgeon, anesthesiologist, and any other medical consultant will be billed to you separately by the physician’s billing office.

All patients registering into the Emergency Room will be seen by a financial counselor after the triage process to discuss co-pays, coinsurance or free care.

Hospital Financial Counselors

Financial counselors are available to assist with financial inquiries from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday in the Infirmary Lobby. They may be reached at:
If your last name begins with the letter A - K: 617-573-4098
If your last name begins with the letter L - Z: 617-573-3073.

Charge Cards

MEEI accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover.

content updated: 4/17/06