Financial Information
Payment Options
At Rainy Lake Medical Center, we’re sensitive to the high cost of healthcare. That’s why we provide a Financial Counselor dedicated to helping you understand your bill and finding the best way for you to pay for services.
We’ve created five convenient options to help you meet the cost of your healthcare:
Cash
Check
Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express)
Extended payment plan, designed to help those who are unable to pay in full. If approved for this plan, you can make monthly payments on your bill.
Financial Assistance Program
Insurance
Rainy Lake Medical Center bills patients’ insurance plans as a courtesy, however, patients and their legal guardians are ultimately responsible for medical costs. Insurance companies require the hospital to review your insurance card upon each visit. Expenses not covered by insurance providers may include:
- Elective procedures
- Exclusions from your regularly insured treatment
- Deductibles and copayments
Delinquency policy
Accounts are considered late if no payments are received within 120 days of billing.
Price Estimates
To determine the estimated price for a procedure, you can call our price estimate team at 218.283.5180.
Community Care
Assistance Is Available
Rainy Lake Medical Center’s Financial Assistance Program provides free or reduced-cost healthcare to patients who are unable to pay fully for services received at our facility.
Click for Plain Language Summary
Click for Printable Application for Financial Assistance
Click for Printable Checklist for Financial Assistance
Services Covered
Services covered are those that are medically necessary and provided to you by Rainy Lake Medical Center’s staff and billed by Rainy Lake Medical Center. This excludes cosmetic or elective procedures and services provided by outreach providers that bill separately, such as radiologists and cardiologists.
Eligibility
Eligibility is based on your income and your application for, and use of, any private or government healthcare coverage available to you.
Our Financial Assistance Program is divided into three categories based on income and resources:
- Any person who qualifies under the guidelines and whose income is at or below 200% of the Federal poverty level (updated annually) and adjusted for family size is entitled to care at no cost.
- Any person whose income is more that 200% but not more than 300% of the Federal poverty level (updated annually) and adjusted for family size is entitled to a reduced cost based on the sliding scale established by the Medical Center and approved by the Board of Trustees.
- Any person whose income exceeds 300% of the Federal poverty level (updated annually) and adjusted for family size may be eligible for reduced cost if their income is not sufficient to enable them to fully pay for the services. It is the determination of the Medical Center to reduce charges.
Once these criteria are met, our Financial Assistance Program may assist you with unpaid bills, including those resulting from insurance deductibles and copays.
Determining Eligibility
When reviewing applications for Financial Assistance, Rainy Lake Medical Center makes an initial determination as well as a final determination of eligibility.
The initial determination is made when you request an application for Financial Assistance and meet with a Rainy Lake Medical Center financial representative to provide the required information. During this time, you will be asked to sign a statement confirming the accuracy of the information. The Medical Center will not take collection actions or request a deposit from you while you participate in this initial determination. If you are determined eligible for Financial Assistance, collection actions are delayed pending final determination.
Once you are initially determined eligible for Financial Assistance, you have 14 calendar days to supply documentation supporting the information you provided to the Medical Center’s financial representative. Based on this documentation, the Medical Center will make a final determination on your eligibility for the program. In addition, the hospital will make every reasonable effort to determine whether a government agency or private insurance company will cover some or all of your Medical Center’s charges. Based on your application, you may be required to submit documentation as evidence of your eligibility for Financial Assistance. If you are covered under the Minnesota Senior Federation, the income verification requirement may be waived.
Application Process
When the Medical Center requests your insurance information during registration, we can provide information on Finance Assistance in writing. If you are unable to read, or do not understand the policy, a Rainy Lake Medical Center financial representative can explain the program to you. Additionally, Medical Center staff will give you a Financial Assistance application and brochure at any time. Don’t hesitate to ask for this information; we are happy to provide it to you.
If you are denied coverage through the Financial Assistance Program, you will receive a notice stating the reason why. If you would like your application reconsidered, the hospital offers an appeal process. If your appeal is denied, you will be notified in writing of the reason and collection actions will resume.
If you have any questions about the Financial Assistance Program or your ability to pay for the Medical Center’s services, please contact our Financial Counselor at 218.283.5300.
MNsure Marketplace
The MNsure Marketplace is your one-stop-shop to apply and qualify for Advance Premium Tax Credits and a low cost or a free health insurance plan. MNsure is all about choice, clear information, streamlined applications, no pre-existing exclusions, no denial of coverage, and no annual or lifetime benefit limits.
Rainy Lake Medical Center has three MNsure Navigators to assist you through the process. For appointments, please call:
- Rebecca Bliss, 218.283.5300
- Melanie Waskul, 218.283.5414
For more information about MNsure, visit their website.
Legal Documents
Legal Information
Non-Discrimination Policy
As a recipient of Federal financial assistance, Rainy Lake Medical Center does not exclude, deny benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age in admission to, participation in, or receipt of the services and benefits under any of its programs and activities, whether carried out by RLMC directly or through a contractor or any other entity with which RLMC arranges to carry out its programs and activities.
This statement is in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Regulations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued pursuant to these statues at Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 80, 84, and 91.
Patient’s Bill of Rights
Minnesota Outpatient Surgical Center Patients’ Bill of Rights Minnesota Legislature 2004 Patients and residents of health care facilities; bill of rights.
Legislative intent
It is the intent of the legislature and the purpose of this section to promote the interests and well being of the patients and residents of health care facilities. No health care facility may require a patient or resident to waive these rights as a condition of admission to the facility. Any guardian or conservator of a patient or resident or, in the absence of a guardian or conservator, an interested person, may seek enforcement of these rights on behalf of a patient or resident. An interested person may also seek enforcement of these rights on behalf of a patient or resident who has a guardian or conservator through administrative agencies or in district court having jurisdiction over guardianships and conservatorships. Pending the outcome of an enforcement proceeding the health care facility may, in good faith, comply with the instructions of a guardian or conservator. It is the intent of this section that every patient’s civil and religious liberties, including the right to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices, shall not be infringed and that the facility shall encourage and assist in the fullest possible exercise of these rights.
Definitions
For purposes of subdivisions 4 to 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 18 to 20, “patient” also means a person who receives health care services at an outpatient surgical center. Information about rights. Patients shall, at admission, be told that there are legal rights for their protection during their stay at the facility or throughout their course of treatment and maintenance in the community and that these are described in an accompanying written statement of the applicable rights and responsibilities set forth in this section. Reasonable accommodations shall be made for those with communication Impairments and those who speak a language other than English.
Current facility policies, inspection findings of state and local health authorities, and further explanation of the written statement of rights shall be available to patients, their guardians or their chosen representatives upon reasonable request to the administrator or other designated staff person, consistent with chapter 13, the Data Practices Act, and section 626.557, relating to vulnerable adults.
Courteous treatment
Patients have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect for their individuality by employees of or persons providing service in a health care facility.
Appropriate health care
Patients shall have the right to appropriate medical and personal care based on individual needs.
Physician’s identity
Patients shall have or be given, in writing, the name, business address, telephone number, and specialty, if any, of the physician responsible for coordination of their care. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient’s care record, the information shall be given to the patient’s guardian or other person designated by the patient as a representative.
Relationship with other health services
Patients who receive services from an outside provider are entitled, upon request, to be told the identity of the provider. Information shall include the name of the outside provider, the address, and a description of the service which may be rendered. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient’s care record, the information shall be given to the patient’s guardian or other person designated by the patient as a representative.
Information about treatment
Patients shall be given by their physicians’ complete and current information concerning their diagnosis, treatment, alternatives, risks, and prognosis as required by the physician’s legal duty to disclose. This information shall be in terms and language the patients can reasonably be expected to understand. Patients may be accompanied by a family member or other chosen representative. This information shall include the likely medical or major psychological results of the treatment and its alternatives. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient’s medical record, the information shall be given to the patient’s guardian or other person designated by the patient or resident as a representative. Individuals have the right to refuse this information.
Every patient suffering from any form of breast cancer shall be fully informed, prior to or at the time of admission and during her stay, of all alternative effective methods of treatment of which the treating physician is knowledgeable, including surgical, radiological, or chemotherapeutic treatments or combinations of treatments and the risks associated with each of those methods.
Right to refuse care
Competent patients shall have the right to refuse treatment based on the information required in subdivision 9. In cases where a patient is incapable of understanding the circumstances but has not been adjudicated incompetent, or when legal requirements limit the right to refuse treatment, the conditions and circumstances shall be fully documented by the attending physician in the patient’s medical record.
Experimental research
Written, informed consent must be obtained prior to a patient’s participation in experimental research. Patients have the right to refuse participation. Both consent and refusal shall be documented in the individual care record.
Treatment privacy
Patients shall have the right to respectfulness and privacy as it relates to their medical and personal care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination, and treatment are confidential and shall be conducted
discreetly. Privacy shall be respected during toileting, bathing, and other activities of personal hygiene, except as needed for patient safety or assistance.
Confidentiality of records
Patients shall be assured confidential treatment of their personal and medical records, and may approve or refuse their release to any individual outside the facility. Copies of records and written information from the records shall be made available in accordance with this subdivision and section 144.335. This right does not apply to complaint investigations and inspections by the Department of Health, where required by third party payment contracts, or where otherwise provided by law Responsive service. Patients shall have the right to a prompt and reasonable response to their questions and requests.
Personal privacy
Patients shall have the right to every consideration of their privacy, individuality, and cultural identity as related to their social, religious, and psychological well-being. Facility staff shall respect the privacy of a resident’s room by knocking on the door and seeking consent before entering, except in an emergency or where clearly inadvisable.
Grievances
Patients shall be encouraged and assisted, throughout their stay in a facility or their course of treatment, to understand and exercise their rights as patients and citizens. Patients may voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to facility staff and others of their choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal, including threat of discharge.
Notice of the grievance procedure of the facility or program, as well as addresses and telephone numbers for the Office of Health Facility Complaints and the area nursing home ombudsman pursuant to the Older Americans Act, section 307(a)(12) shall be posted in a conspicuous place.
Compliance by outpatient surgery centers with section 144.691 and compliance by health maintenance organizations with section 62D.11 is deemed to be compliance with the requirement for a written internal grievance procedure.
IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE AGENCY OR PERSON PROVIDING YOU OUTPATIENT SURGICAL SERVICES, YOU MAY CALL, WRITE, OR VISIT THE OFFICE OF HEALTH FACILITY COMPLAINTS, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT THE OMBUDSMAN FOR OLDER MINNESOTANS.
Office of Health Facility Complaints
651.215.8713
1.800.369.7994
Fax: 651.215.8712
Mailing Address:
Minnesota Department of Health
Office of Health Facility Complaints
85 East Seventh Place, Suite 300
P.O. Box 64970
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0970
Office of Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans
651.431.2555
1.800.657.3591
Fax: 651.431.7452
Mailing Address:
Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans
PO Box 64971
St. Paul, MN 55164-0971