Billing Information

Questions or concerns about billing?

Panhandle Anesthesiology Associates is not employed by any hospital or outpatient surgery center. You will receive a separate bill for our professional services from our billing service, Value Based RCM (VBRCM). The itemized bill from the hospital/surgery center may include "anesthesia" charges, but these cover medications, equipment, and other supplies, not the care provided by your anesthesia team.

Our anesthesia fees are based on the Relative Value Guide developed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and are recognized by Medicare, Medicaid, and major insurance companies. The Relative Value Guide considers the type of surgery, the time spent providing anesthesia care, and any unique circumstances in developing a total “unit value” for your procedure. The total unit value is calculated and multiplied by our per unit fee, which is based on community standards.

The Billing Process

In most cases, upon registration to the hospital, your packet will contain an informational letter from our billing service, VBRCM. It will outline the billing process going forward including the following points:

1. After anesthetic services are provided your bill will be sent directly to your primary insurer, then your secondary insurer (if available) after primary payment. If there is additional payment due, VBRCM will send you a statement with the amount due. Payments may be made by check or credit card.

2. We have accepted “assignment of benefits,” which means in most cases your insurer will send payment directly to VBRCM. If your insurance carrier sends payment directly to you, please follow the instructions on your VBRCM bill or call us at
   (866) 653-2540.

Out-of-Network Patients



Despite attempts on our part to negotiate in good faith, some insurers refuse to pay a reasonable rate for our services. If we were to accept these lower rates, we would be unable to retain our highly qualified staff and our patients' care would suffer. In these cases, we have determined that we will charge minimal or no out of pocket anesthesia costs to you just because of you out of network status. In no case will you be held responsible for the out of pocket expense reflected on an Explanation Of Benefits if we are not a contracted provider with your insurer. If you are an “Out of Network” or “Non-Participating” patient you should receive a letter from VBRCM shortly after your procedure explaining this in greater detail.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about the billing process or your particular situation, please do not hesitate to contact VBRCM at (866) 653-2540.