Hospital charges do not include physicians' fees. You will be billed separately for the professional services of emergency room physicians, radiologists for interpreting your x-ray procedures, anesthesiologists for the administration of anesthesia during surgery, pathologists for their services, your admitting physician and other physicians involved in consultation. You are responsible for providing insurance information to those other providers. Private duty nurses or sitters must also be paid separately.

Filing your insurance

Your insurance will be billed as a courtesy. St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital will honor assignments of insurance benefits for 45 days from the date of billing to the insurance company. If, at the end of 45 days, the insurance company has not settled the account, St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital will look to the patient for the final settlement of the account. At that time, you will receive a statement for any unpaid amount reflected in the “Please Pay” box on the statement. If a patient is unable to pay the full amount, St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital offers payment options and other assistance. Patients may contact the Collections Department at (845) 458-4900.

Important information for Medicare patients

St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital strives to provide quality healthcare services, and to act in the best interests of our patients. We want to ensure the smooth delivery of services during your outpatient visit, and inform you of any procedures/test that may not be covered by your insurance plan.

Based on these values, we will make sure that the physician’s prescription contains the outpatient test/procedure code(s) and a diagnosis. These procedure codes are used by Medicare to determine coverage.

If the test/procedure passes Medicare standards, you will be registered in our system and then proceed to the clinical department to have the tests/procedures performed. If some or all of the tests/procedures ordered by your physician do not meet Medicare standards, you will be asked to review and sign an Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) form. By signing this form, the patient agrees to be personally and fully responsible for payment if Medicare denies the claim.

There also may be times when the physician’s prescription may be missing critical information, such as the procedure and/or diagnostic codes. Medicare will not cover the service without this information. If this occurs, our admitting and registration department will contact your doctor’s office and try to obtain the correct information so that we can ensure that it will meet Medicare standards.

Important information for self-pay patients

St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital is the first local hospital to discount its rates for self-pay patients, just as all hospitals do for insurance companies.

We have two options for the self-pay, uninsured patient. Charity Care is available to those patients who do not qualify for Medicaid and whose annual income is below 300% of national federal guidelines. Therefore, an individual earning less than $27,000 is eligible for financial assistance. To qualify, you must complete an application and demonstrate your income.

For uninsured patients who do not qualify for Charity Care, a discounted self-pay rate has been established by St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital. Inpatient rates range from $1,500 to $2,100 per day plus any surgical implant charges. Outpatient rates are discounted at least 15% off the hospital charge.

To obtain a Charity Care application, or for more information about these services, please contact the Collections Department at (845) 458-4900.