Understanding Your Invoice

Medical bills can be complex. We are ready and eager to answer your questions and help you navigate the maze of insurances, co-pays, and invoices.

All services rendered at Salinas Endoscopy Center are billed at in-network rates, you will not receive a surprise bill.

Other services

You will receive several separate charges for your procedure, and we want to make sure you understand what you, and your insurance, are paying for. Most patients will receive four or five charges for their visit: 

  1. The SEC facility
  2. Your gastroenterologist
  3. Sedation / Anesthesia
  4. Pathology (if necessary)
  5. Pathology laboratory (if necessary)

PATHOLOGY

Frequently, your physician will notice a polyp (a small growth) in your digestive system and remove it for testing during your procedure. By examining the tissue of the polyp under a microscope, a pathologist will be able to tell your doctor if the polyp needs further care. Before the pathologist can examine the specimen, it is sent out to a laboratory for processing and placed in very small slices on multiple slides. The pathologist is a separate physician from your gastroenterologist and both the pathologist and the laboratory will bill separately for their services.

ANESTHESIA

Most patients benefit from being sedated during their procedure. Some patients can tolerate the procedure with only mild sedation (called “conscious sedation”) wherein you are awake but desensitized. If you prefer only mild sedation, please discuss that with your gastroenterologist. Our center follows the 2018 ASGE Standard of Care regarding the use of deep sedation. The guidelines are available for download here.

If you are given deep sedation for your procedure, your anesthesia team will bill you separately. Our current anesthesia provider is Anda Anesthesia.

Insurances Accepted

MEDICARE

SEC is contracted and credentialed with Medicare. Your procedure will be billed directly to Medicare on your behalf. You will be responsible for your co-pay and any co-insurance amounts.

COMMERCIAL INSURANCE

We accept nearly all commercial insurance plans (more than 150 carriers and plan types). If you don’t see your carrier listed below, please contact us to confirm your insurance.

  • Blue Cross / Anthem, including Covered California plans
  • Blue Shield
  • Cigna
  • Aetna
  • United Healthcare
  • Western Growers
  • Aspire Health Plan
  • HealthNet
  • TriCare

MEDI-CAL (CENTRAL COAST ALLIANCE)

In California, Medicaid is known as Medi-Cal. We accept all Medi-Cal patients. If you live in Monterey, Merced, or Santa Cruz county, your Medi-Cal is administered through Central Coast Alliance for Health, and we work closely with your plan to make sure everything is taken care of for you.

SELF PAY

For a variety of reasons, some patients prefer to pay directly for their care. Please contact our billing staff to understand cash pay prices for SEC procedures.