Help Paying Your Bill
Need help paying for your medical care? You may be eligible to receive financial assistance, discounted payments or charity care.
Sonoma Valley Hospital is committed to meeting the healthcare needs of those who are unable to pay for medically necessary or emergency care. Consistent with our mission to maintain, improve, and restore the health of everyone in our community, Sonoma Valley Hospital will ensure that the financial capacity of people who need healthcare services does not prevent them from seeking or receiving care at our facility.
For Financial Assistance, please contact our Finance Department at 707.935.5325, email billing, or in person at 347 Andrieux St, Sonoma, CA where they will be happy to assist you.
Pay Your Bill Online
Use MyChart to securely access your medical records and pay your bill online.
Financial Assistance Translations
Download the application in other languages: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Khmer/Cambodian, Korean, Lao/Laotian, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Consumer Guide to Healthcare
Information to help you understand healthcare prices: English, Spanish
How do I determine whether I qualify for financial assistance for my hospital bills?
Sonoma Valley Hospital offers Financial Assistance, Free Care, or Discounted Care to All patients. You can see if you qualify for Financial Assistance by using the most recent Federal Poverty Guidelines. California residency is a requirement for financial assistance, Patient Financial Services will not solicit proof of citizenship or Legal Residency as demonstration of California residency.
If your family income is below 400% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, you may qualify for Financial Assistance (the hospital will write off 100% of your balance). If you have high medical costs exceeding 10 percent of your family income, you may qualify for either Financial Assistance or a discount payment option.
How do I apply for financial assistance?
The business office will begin the eligibility determination process once they receive a completed application form along with your family income verification documents. You may also call Patient Accounting at 707.935.5325 with any questions or concerns. For in person assistance, visit us at 347 Andrieux St, Sonoma, CA 95476.
More Help
Free consumer advocacy organizations can help you understand hospital bills and financial assistance programs.
Health Consumer Alliance
Phone: 888-804-3536
Website: https://healthconsumer.org
Price Estimates
To assist you in budgeting for your healthcare experience at Sonoma Valley Hospital, here are two ways to obtain help in estimating costs:
Contact your insurance company
Your insurance company will let you know if a service is a covered benefit, if Sonoma Valley Hospital is an in-network provider, and how much you need to pay if you have a deductible or an out-of-pocket expense before your insurance company contributes to your bill.
Sonoma Valley Hospital accepts a range of insurance plans. Our staff can assist you and make sure you have all the information you need when you need it. When contacting us, please have your insurance card available.
Obtain an estimate From Sonoma Valley Hospital before your scheduled visit or stay
- Elective Surgical and Gastrointestinal (GI) Procedures
Contact Pre-Registration at 707.935.5350 to receive a billing estimate before you receive services. - Outpatient Medical Imaging Services
Includes CT-Scan, X-Rays, Ultrasounds, MRI, Cardiopulmonary contact Pre-Registration at 707.935.5008. - Mammography
Contact Pre-Registration at 707.935.5215 to receive a billing estimate before you receive services. - Speech Therapy
Contact Pre-Registration at 707.935.5345 to receive a billing estimate before you receive services.
Pricing Transparency
Sonoma Valley Hospital provides reliable cost estimates of services and procedures. Depending upon your situation, we can provide an estimate of your out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles, co-payments, or any financial assistance for which you may be eligible.
You will find the estimate information available through our Finance Department. This is informational only. It is not a guarantee of the final billing charges or related financial responsibility. Your actual bill and responsibility may vary from the cost estimate based upon your medical condition, unknown circumstances, complications, final diagnosis and recommended treatment ordered by your physician.
Prices will vary and reflect differences among specific payers due to regulations and negotiations with health providers.
It is possible that you will receive services from other healthcare professionals while you are being cared for at our hospital. Those services will be billed separately.
Charge Description Master & Diagnostic Related Group
SVH Charge Description Master (CDM): The Charge Description Master (CDM), or chargemaster, is a comprehensive listing of items that could be billed to a patient, payer, or healthcare provider. The CDM is updated annually and it represents the hospital’s comprehensive list of services, items and supplies that are billable for inpatient and outpatient visits and stays. The prices shown are amounts set before any discounts. Hospitals are required to post charges as the starting point for all billable items. The prices on this list are for Hospital supplies and services only and are gross charges they do not represent your out-of-pocket expenses or specific contracted rates for any SVH payers, including Medicare.
SVH Diagnostic Related Group (DRG): The Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) is the payment system which is referred to as the Inpatient Prospective Payment System. This is established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and categorizes each diagnosis by the average resources used to treat Medicare patients for a specific inpatient diagnosis. This is an electronic file, updated annually, that represents the assigned DRG 3-digit code, its description and the SVH average charge for that diagnosis.
No Surprises Act
Effective January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act, which Congress passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, is designed to protect patients from surprise bills for emergency services at out-of-network facilities or for out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, holding them liable only for in-network cost-sharing amounts. The No Surprises Act also enables uninsured patients to receive a good faith estimate of the cost of care. Billing Disclosures – Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills: When you get emergency care or get treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing. Additional information for the No Surprise Act (pdf) – English / Spanish
Hospital Bill Complaint Program
The Hospital Bill Complaint Program is a state program that reviews hospital decisions about whether patients qualify for financial assistance.
If you believe you were wrongly denied Charity Care or Discount Payment, you may file a complaint:
· Phone: 1-800-254-5164
· Website: https://hcai.ca.gov/affordability/hospital-fair-billing-program/
