New Patients:

     Welcome to PEDIATRIC ASSOCIATES OF NYC! Choosing the right pediatrician is one of the most important things you can do for your child. By selecting Pediatric Associates, you can feel comfortable that you have made the right decision. Our philosophy is: Fostering the development of effective and independent parenting skills based on accurate, current information and the use of common sense and reason.  We go beyond taking care of children when they are ill and emphasize maintaining their health and monitoring their growth and development.

      At Pediatric Associates, we provide comprehensive care for infants, children and adolescents. Our 10 board certified pediatricians are supported by a registered nurse practitioner @ our Manhattan location as well as by a team of medical assistants. As a group practice, we ensure that your child receives prompt medical care. 

      What to bring to your first visit?

• Your child’s insurance card.  If not available, the subscriber’s insurance card along with a completed “Insurance Information” form for your child/ren
• Medical records from your previous pediatrician

      Please print, read and complete a Patient Registration Sheet, HIPAA Acknowledgment Sheet and our Policy & Procedures and bring these with you to your first visit. We also encourage you to take our Insurance Questionnaire as it was designed to help you, the patient become familiar with details about your policy that are not commonly known.

Patient Financial Policy:

     For the benefit of our patients we are contracted with several insurance carriers as providers. You will want to check your benefits booklet or with the benefits department of your employer to verify if our physicians are listed as providers within your network. As part of our contract with the insurance companies we are legally required by the terms of the contract to collect any co pays or deductibles from you at the time of service. We do ask that you be prepared to pay your co-pay at the time of check in. Your account may be assessed a $5 missed co pay fee if payment is not received. Failure to collect these monies can result in cancellation of our provider contract since as per the insurance companies: the waiving of applicable patient liabilities serves to drive up healthcare expenses for all, which contributes to rising healthcare insurance premiums.  Patients who do not have insurance coverage will be expected to pay at the time of service. For your convenience we accept Checks, MasterCard, Visa, Amex and Discover cards.

     It is our desire to have a mutually respectful relationship with our patients. Physicians do not discuss financial issues. Our billing staff is trained to discuss your account and will be happy to help you.  Be assured that our billing department will continue to be aggressive in their attempts to collect appropriate payments from your health plan, however, the ultimate financial responsibility for your child’s health care rests with you.  Failure to pay for medical services delivered in good faith will cause a patient’s account to be turned over to an outside agency for collection.

     It is the patient’s responsibility to:

• Know your insurance plan benefits pertaining to pediatric well and sick visits

• Know what is covered. Not all services are a covered benefit in all contracts. It is your responsibility to be aware of your insurance company’s provisions on office visits, immunizations, well-child exams, and routine annual exams including school, camp or sports physicals.       

• Add a newborn infant to their policy as soon as possible within the 1st 30 days of life. Although newborns are usually covered under the mother’s insurance for the 1st 30 days of life, the baby must be added to the insurance policy as soon as possible within the 30 days for coverage to continue for your child. NYS law says “If a parent does not add a newborn infant within the prescribed thirty-day period following delivery, the managed care company is only required to provide inpatient hospital coverage for the mother and the newborn infant for at least 48 hours after a vaginal birth and at least 96 hours after a caesarean birth. In other words charges incurred for services provided in our office will not be covered, if you do not add the baby to the policy within the allotted time.

• Choose PANYC as your primary care physician if you are a member of an HMO.

• Carry your child’s insurance card and present it to the receptionist at the time of service.

• Make full payment of office visit co pays, deductible, coinsurance and non covered expenses at the time of your visit.

• Advise the staff of any changes in address, home or emergency telephone numbers and insurance coverage at check in.

• Know dependant child billing rules:  If your child is covered by more than one plan you often have to decide which parent’s insurance plan covers the child. Typically when trying to determine which plan is primary and secondary you must use the Birthday Rule.  The Birthday rule says that for a dependant child of parents who are not legally separated or divorced, the insurance of the parent whose birthday falls earlier in the year (not the year, but the month in which the parent was born) is the primary carrier. **If both parents have the same birthday, the plan that has provided coverage the longest is the primary carrier.     

• Know that the responsibility of payment for services rendered to any dependent children whose parents are divorced rests with the parent who seeks treatment.