General Information

Before Your Surgery

Your surgeon will review with you the details of having your surgery performed at the Surgery Center. You will be given detailed instructions, and a representative of the Surgery Center will contact you to obtain and confirm necessary personal information.

Financial Policy

Thank you for choosing Big Creek Surgery Center of Southwest General as your health care provider. We realize that the cost of health care is a concern for our patients. Therefore, we offer the following information to help you understand our financial policies and aid you in planning for payment. Your clear understanding of our financial policy is important to our professional relationship. Carefully review the following information, and please feel free to ask if you have any questions about our fees, our policies or your responsibility.

Based on the information provided by your physician’s office, the Surgery Center will estimate the charges for your scheduled procedure or surgery. An exact fee cannot be quoted before surgery, since it is unpredictable what the findings may be at the time of surgery and what specific procedures may be billed. We will estimate the portion of your charges that your insurance will cover and estimate the amount that will be your financial responsibility as the patient.

Prior to your surgery, you will receive a call from the Surgery Center to explain our charges, and you will be given the estimated patient responsibility at that time. If you have not received a call the day before your surgery, please call the Surgery Center’s business office at 440-740-8400.

Deductibles and Coinsurances

Your estimated deductible and coinsurance amount is due at the time of service. Your deductible is the amount you have to pay out of pocket for services before your insurance company will begin to pay. Coinsurance is a co-sharing agreement between you and your insurance company, which provides that your insurance will cover a set percentage of the covered costs after the deductible has been paid. Be prepared to pay a portion of your estimated balance on the date of service. Financial assistance may be available to you by calling 440-816-4701. After your insurance has paid, any remaining patient responsibility will be billed to you. If our original estimate was too high, you will be refunded your overpayment in a timely manner.

Cosmetic Procedures

Payment for cosmetic surgery is due in full on the day of surgery. Two separate payments are due, one for anesthesia and one for the Surgery Center.

Uninsured/Self-Pay Accounts

Patients who are not covered by insurance are expected to pay the surgical and anesthesia charges in full on, or before, the day of surgery in accordance with all of Southwest General’s billing and collection policies, including the charity care policy.

Method of Payment

For your convenience, Big Creek Surgery Center of Southwest General accepts cash, local personal checks, cashier’s check, debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and CareCredit.

Separate Billing

Big Creek Surgery Center of Southwest General is a recognized outpatient department of Southwest General Health Center. The Surgery Center charges a facility fee for each surgical/diagnostic procedure performed by your physician. You will receive a separate bill from your physician for his/her professional services. Additionally, if you require anesthesia, the contracted anesthesia group will bill you for its services. If your physician orders pathology services for you while at the Surgery Center, the laboratory will bill you directly for its services. If you require implants or high-dollar devices for your surgery, you may be billed by Implantable Provider Group (IPG), which will provide the implant or device.

The Surgery Center provides insurance and billing information to these providers so they can file a claim on your behalf. The Surgery Center will make every effort to utilize network providers for your ancillary services.

For more information on our billing and collection policies, please call the Surgery Center or Southwest General’s Financial Clearance Team at 440-818-8600.

Advance Directives

The Ohio state law says that a health care facility shall provide to each patient, written information concerning the individual’s rights concerning advance directives and the health care facilities policies respecting the implantation of such rights, and shall document in the patient’s medical records whether or not the individual has executed an advance directive. The health care facility may not require a patient to execute an advance directive or to execute a new advance directive using the facilities or providers forms. The patient’s advance directives shall travel with the patient as part of the patient’s medical record. Ohio state advance directive information is available upon request.

The physicians and staff of Big Creek Surgery Center of Southwest General respect your rights to participate in decisions regarding your health care. Ohio state law permits a notice of limitation by the Surgery Center regarding the execution of a patient’s advance directive. The Surgery Center will always attempt to resuscitate a patient and will transfer the patient in the event of deterioration. If you are transferred to a hospital, your advance directive will be sent with you as part of your medical record.

The physicians and the entire staff at Big Creek Surgery Center of Southwest General are committed to assuring you excellent quality care. Should you have a complaint or grievance related to Big Creek Surgery Center, contact the administrator at 440-743-8400, or call Southwest General’s Patient Relations Department at 440-816-8954.