Payment & Fees

Please contact your insurance to learn of your coverage and costs

Good Faith Estimate

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.

This law is intended to reduce unexpected medical bills (for example your ER doctor is out of network with your insurance, and you end up with a surprise bill). Under the law, healthcare providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. Not to worry though, my costs are listed above, and we will always discuss any changes.

Here is what you want to know under the new law:

You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services
Make sure your healthcare provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your psychological service
You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill
Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-877-696-6775.

Here is what we have been told must be in the Good Faith Estimate:

The patient’s name and date of birth. Well, you know your name and date of birth.
A description of the psychotherapy or other service(s) being furnished to the patient: 45 to 60 minutes of mental health therapy.
An itemized list of items or services that are “reasonably expected” to be furnished: Therapy sessions.
Expected charges associated with each psychotherapy session or other service(s): $225/session. Maybe less if your insurance covers some of it. It won’t be more than that per session.
Your name, National Provider Identifier, Tax Identification Number, and office location where services will be provided:

Dr. Sandra Laski

NPI 384037955

Tax ID: 5064415

Telehealth Services

A disclaimer that there may be additional items or services that you recommend as part of the treatment that will be scheduled separately and is not reflected in the good faith estimate.
A disclaimer that the information provided in the good faith estimate is only an estimate and those actual items, services, or charges may differ from the good faith estimate: There’s your disclaimer.
A disclaimer that the good faith estimate does not require the private pay patient to obtain psychotherapy or other services from you: Clearly, you are welcome to see me or not see me.

EFFECTIVE DATE. This section below is effective October 1, 2024.

Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 144.587, subdivision 4, only applies to hospitals

Sec. 25. [62J.805] DEFINITIONS.
Subdivision 1. Application. For purposes of sections 62J.805 to 62J.808, the following terms have the meanings given.
Subd. 2. Billing error. "Billing error" means an error in a bill from a health care provider to a patient for health treatment or services that affects the amount owed by the patient according to that bill. Billing error includes but is not limited to (1) miscoding a health treatment or service, (2) an error in determining whether a health treatment or service is covered under the patient's health plan, or (3) an error in determining the cost-sharing owed by the patient.
Subd. 3. Group practice. "Group practice" has the meaning given to health care provider group practice in section 145D.01, subdivision 1.
Subd. 4. Health care provider. "Health care provider" means:

(1) a health professional who is licensed or registered by the state to provide health treatment and services within the professional's scope of practice and in accordance with state law;

(2) a group practice; or
(3) a hospital.
Subd. 5. Health plan. "Health plan" has the meaning given in section 62A.011, subdivision 3.
Subd. 6. Hospital. "Hospital" means a health care facility licensed as a hospital under sections 144.50 to 144.56.
Subd. 7. Medically necessary. "Medically necessary" means:
(1) safe and effective;
(2) not experimental or investigational, except as provided in Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 411.15(o);
(3) furnished in accordance with acceptable medical standards of medical practice to diagnose or treat the patient's condition, or to improve the function of a malformed body member;
(4) furnished in a setting appropriate to the patient's medical need and condition;
(5) ordered and furnished by qualified personnel;
(6) meets, but does not exceed, the patient's medical need; and
(7) is at least as beneficial as an existing and available medically appropriate alternative.
Subd. 8. Payment. "Payment" includes co-payments and coinsurance and deductible payments made by a patient.

Sec. 26. [62J.806] POLICY FOR COLLECTION OF MEDICAL DEBT.
Subdivision 1. Requirement. A health care provider must make available to the public the health care provider's policy for collecting medical debt from patients. The policy must be made available by:
(1) clearly posting the policy on the health care provider's website or, for health professionals, on the website of the health clinic, group practice, or hospital at which the health professional is employed or under contract; and
(2) providing a copy of the policy to any individual who requests the policy.
Subd. 2. Content. A policy made available under this section must at least specify the procedures followed by the health care provider to:
(1) communicate with patients about the medical debt owed and collecting medical debt;
(2) refer medical debt to a collection agency or law firm for collection; and
(3) identify medical debt as uncollectible or satisfied, and ending collection activities.

Sec. 27. [62J.807] DENIAL OF HEALTH TREATMENT OR SERVICES DUE TO OUTSTANDING MEDICAL DEBT.
(a) A health care provider must not deny medically necessary health treatment or services to a patient or any member of the patient's family or household because of current or previous outstanding medical debt owed by the patient or any member of the patient's family or household to the health care provider, regardless of whether the health treatment or service may be available from another health care provider.
(b) As a condition of providing medically necessary health treatment or services in the circumstances described in paragraph (a), a health care provider may require the patient to enroll in a payment plan for the outstanding medical debt owed to the health care provider. The payment plan must be reasonable and must take into account any information disclosed by the patient regarding the patient's ability to pay. Before entering into the payment plan, a health care provider must notify the patient that if the patient is unable to make all or part of the agreed-upon installment payments, the patient must communicate the patient's situation to the health care provider and must pay an amount the patient can afford.

Sec. 28. [62J.808] BILLING ERRORS; HEALTH TREATMENT OR SERVICES.
Subdivision 1. Billing and acceptance of payment. (a) If a health care provider or health plan company determines or receives notice from a patient or other person that a bill from the health care provider to a patient for health treatment or services may contain one or more billing errors, the health care provider or health plan company must review the bill and correct any billing errors found. While the review is being conducted, the health care provider must not bill the patient for any health treatment or service subject to review for potential billing errors. A health care provider may bill the patient for the health treatment and services that were reviewed for potential billing errors under this subdivision only after the review is complete, any billing errors are corrected, and a notice of completed review required under subdivision 3 is transmitted to the patient.
(b) If, after completing the review under paragraph (a) and correcting any billing errors, a health care provider or health plan company determines the patient overpaid the health care provider under the bill, the health care provider must, within 30 days after completing the review, refund to the patient the amount the patient overpaid under the bill.
Subd. 2. Notice to patient of potential billing error. (a) If a health care provider or health plan company determines or receives notice from a patient or other person that a bill from the health care provider to a patient for health treatment or services may contain one or more billing errors, the health care provider or health plan company must notify the patient:
(1) of the potential billing error;
(2) that the health care provider or health plan company must review the bill and correct any billing errors found; and
(3) that while the review is being conducted, the health care provider must not bill the patient for any health treatment or service subject to review for potential billing errors.
(b) The notice required under this subdivision must be transmitted to the patient within 30 days after the date the health care provider or health plan company determines or receives notice that the patient's bill may contain one or more billing errors.
Subd. 3. Notice to patient of completed review. When a health care provider or health plan company completes a review of a bill for potential billing errors, the health care provider or health plan company must (1) notify the patient that the review is complete, (2) explain in detail how any identified billing errors were corrected or explain in detail why the health care provider or health plan company did not modify the bill as requested by the patient or other person, and (3) include applicable coding guidelines, references to health records, and other relevant information. This notice must be transmitted to the patient within 30 days after the date the health care provider or health plan company completes the review.

Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 144.587, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Prohibited actions. (a) A hospital must not initiate one or more of the following actions until the hospital determines that the patient is ineligible for charity care or denies an application for charity care:
(1) offering to enroll or enrolling the patient in a payment plan;
(2) changing the terms of a patient's payment plan;
(3) offering the patient a loan or line of credit, application materials for a loan or line of credit, or assistance with applying for a loan or line of credit, for the payment of medical debt;
(4) referring a patient's debt for collections, including in-house collections, third-party collections, revenue recapture, or any other process for the collection of debt; or
(5) denying health care services to the patient or any member of the patient's household because of outstanding medical debt, regardless of whether the services are deemed necessary or may be available from another provider; or
(6) (5) accepting a credit card payment of over $500 for the medical debt owed to the hospital.
(b) A violation of section 62J.807 is a violation of this subdivision.

Sec. 30. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 176.175, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Nonassignability. No claim for compensation or settlement of a claim for compensation owned by an injured employee or dependents is assignable. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any claim for compensation owned by an injured employee or dependents is exempt from seizure or sale for the payment of any debt or liability, up to a total amount of $1,000,000 per claim and subsequent award.