Billing and Payment at Children's Hospital Colorado

Watch this video to learn what to expect from your bill for a scheduled appointment.

En español:

Watch this video to learn what to expect from your bill for urgent or emergency care.

En español:

This bill lists the itemized charges for the healthcare services received from Children's Colorado. This bill includes hospital charges and facility fees. (It does not include the services provided by the doctor. These services are billed separately by CU Medicine.)

Facility fees cover the cost of your care team and pay for the people (other than doctors) involved in your care.

There are 2 types of fees that support how we care for children:

1. Professional fees: Professional fees only pay for the time the doctor or advanced practice provider spends with the patient. These fees are billed by CU Medicine or independent doctor.
2. Facility fees: Facility fees pay for the rest of the patient’s care team at Children's Colorado. These fees are billed by Children's Colorado.

Here are some examples of services and resources that facility fees pay for:

• Nurses
• Nursing assistants
• Behavioral health therapists
• Social workers
• Child life specialists
• Care managers
• Dietitians
• Medical interpreters
• Lab technicians and phlebotomists
• Pharmacists
• Housekeeping and environmental services teams
• Front desk and check-in staff
• Drugs and supplies
• Medical equipment and imaging (e.g., X-ray, MRI, CT, cardiac catheterization, infusion, dialysis, etc.)
• Integrated electronic medical records
• Maintenance of buildings and utilities (e.g., electricity, water)
• Additional locations to provide care closer to home for more families
• And much more

We estimate your costs based on your insurance coverage and the type of care we expect you to receive during your scheduled visit. When you go to your appointment, your care team may decide that you need a different type of care or additional services that we may not have expected. 

Cost estimates provide a general idea of what you can expect to pay. But because medical care is based on the patient’s very specific needs, the actual charges on the patient’s final hospital bill may be different. Addressing more than one medical condition (called co-occurring medical conditions), the final diagnosis, complications or any additional treatment, medication, tests or imaging you need are all examples of reasons that your bill may be different than your original estimate. 

Please review our frequently asked questions about health insurance coverage and what you can expect to pay before you visit.

For Department of Pediatric Dentistry billing questions and payments, please call 720-777-6422. Their office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Wednesday 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Children's Colorado provides many medical-related services for independent clinics and doctors, as well as other hospitals. For example, a pediatrician or a free-standing health center may refer lab work to us for testing or analysis. When this happens, the bill for the lab services will come from Children's Colorado and not the pediatrician or health center that ordered services.

Yes. We will file your claim using the insurance information you provide during visit registration.  

It is important that you provide us with all the necessary information to ensure that we are billing the correct health insurance plan in a timely manner.

We will send your claim to all of the health insurance plans that you provide at each visit. The insurance plan(s) that we have on file for each visit will be listed on your billing statement.

Copays

A copay is a charge that your health insurance plan may require you to pay to receive a specific medical service or supply. Copays vary by plan and can change depending on the type of visit. 

For example: Let's say Gary takes his child to a doctor at Children’s Colorado. The doctor reviews his insurance and sees that he has a $25 copay based on his insurance plan. Gary pays $25 for the visit (the amount of his copay) and his insurance company will reimburse the doctor for the difference between the copay and the total cost of treatment. 

Deductibles

Your deductible is the amount of your medical costs that you have to pay before your health insurance company will share the cost of your care based on your insurance plan benefits. 

Example: Gary’s family has a health plan with a $1,500 deductible. If Gary and his family only have minor health expenses during the year that cost less than $1,500 total, he's going to pay the full amount to treat them. However, if Gary or someone in his family has a serious illness that requires a lot of medical care, he'll pay his $1,500 deductible and then his health insurance will pay for care according to his insurance plan. 

Coinsurance

Coinsurance is the way you and your health insurance company share the costs of your care. For example, if Gary’s child is injured and he’s met his family’s deductible for the year, his health plan will pay 80% of the cost of his bills, leaving him responsible for the remaining 20%. 

So, in summary: 

• You pay copays when you see the doctor. 
• Deductibles are the portion you must pay before your insurance pays. 
• Coinsurance is how you and your insurance company split up the cost of your care.

If you disagree with the insurance company’s payment amount, contact the insurance company directly and ask them to review how the claim was processed. 

If the insurance company determines the bill was paid correctly and you still disagree, please contact your benefit manager with your insurance company. They can provide guidance on how to file an "appeal" with them. Filing an appeal will ensure that your claim will be reviewed for reconsideration.

Urgent care is a subcategory of emergency care. This is why your urgent care bill may say “emergency room general.”

If you want to double check that you were billed as an urgent care visit, you can ask for a more detailed list of the services provided, called an itemized statement. The itemized statement does not describe every single service individually, but it does give you a better picture of the amount you owe.

To request an itemized statement, please call Patient Financial Services at 720-777-6422. Itemized statements are not available through MyChart.

We bill charges under two categories: the level of care you need (either emergency or urgent care) and the complexity of the services you need (from more basic to highly complex).  

Because we group these charges together, you will not see every single item listed individually. If you request an itemized statement, you can get a closer look at what’s included in these groupings. 

It takes many people and resources to be able to provide the highest quality urgent and emergency care. We charge for these services and resources under what’s called a facility fee. The facility fee covers the nursing team, equipment and any standard necessary services so we can give you the best care when you need it.

Yes. All patients and families over 18 years old who visit Children’s Colorado will automatically be signed up for paperless billing and receive bills electronically. We let you know when new bills are ready to view through the MyChart mobile app and through the email that is linked to your account. To opt out of paperless billing, login to your MyChart account, select “Billing Summary” from the menu and click “Cancel paperless billing.

If you have a MyChart account and want to view your bill, follow these steps:  

1. Log in with your existing username and password.  
2. Click the menu icon on the top-left side of the page.  
3. Click the "Billing Summary" link within the billing category.

If you do not have a MyChart account, contact Patient Financial Services at 720-777-6422 for help.

To request an itemized statement of your bill, please call Patient Financial Services at 720-777-6422. Itemized statements are not available through MyChart.

Open the links below to view an example of what your bill may look like. The first page is an overview of a bill, including the amount due and payment due date. The next pages provide a detailed breakdown of any outstanding account(s). 

Download a sample bill:

• English (.pdf)
• Español (.pdf)

If you still need help understanding your bill, please call us at 720-777-6422 or email the patient family services team at PFS@childrenscolorado.org.

Children’s Colorado is licensed as a hospital-based specialty medical facility, not a standalone doctor’s office.

We are committed to providing healthcare to children regardless of family income.  

If you need help paying for your medical bill(s) or would like to know if your child qualifies for financial assistance, please call one of our financial counselors at 720-777-7001.  

Our financial counselors can help you apply for a variety of financial assistance programs.

You can set up automatic monthly payments in MyChart or by contacting our customer service team at 720-777-6422 or PFS@childrenscolorado.org.

Most visits do not require prepayment. You can choose to pay a deposit towards your visit with the prepayment option available through MyChart or at a check-in kiosk. 

If you do not use the prepayment option, we will bill you for the full amount after your visit.

Visits that must be prepaid

Patients in the following categories may be required to prepay: 

• International patients
• Self-pay dental patients
• Some plastic surgery patients (for plastic surgeries not covered by insurance)
• Learning services for patients with learning disabilities, which are not covered by insurance

If you have questions about prepayment, please give us a call at 720-777-0720.

Your visit must be complete before we can generate a bill and payment plan. However, we can accept prepayments on MyChart or at a check-in kiosk. Prepayments allow you to pay all or a portion of the estimated cost of your visit.

We will apply your payment to the oldest bill first. Once this balance is paid in full, any additional payments will go to the next oldest bill.

The statement may have been generated before your payment. If you made a payment and do not see it reflected in your current billing statement, please call us at 720-777-6422 or email us at PFS@childrenscolorado.org.

We are happy to review your payment(s) and any remaining balance(s).

If you made a payment and are due a refund, we will either issue a refund to the original credit or debit card that was used to make the initial payment, or we will mail a refund check. 

All credit and debit card refund requests must be made by contacting Patient Financial Services at 720-777-6422. Please allow 10 to 14 days for all refunds to process.

Children's Colorado will attempt to send 5 billing statements with details of the patient's account before any action is taken. Our team members may also try to call you. If a payment or payment arrangements have not been made in this period, we refer the account to a collection agency.  

Once an account is placed with an outside collection agency, we ask that you work directly with the agency to resolve the balance.