Billing estimates

The service is available 24 hours a day via My Health Connection, or by phone Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Any UCHealth patient may receive an estimate for scheduled services, or services needing to be scheduled.

Non-UCHealth patients may also receive an estimate via My Health Connection.

• Established patient
• Non-UCHealth patient

UCHealth has started to automatically send estimates for certain surgical procedures before a patient asks for one. This is being done so we can be transparent with patients on pricing. This is the first phase of providing patients an estimate ahead of time. Over the next few months, we will set up the same process for other services in surgery, radiology and outpatient visits.

Up to 3 days before your visit or procedure, the estimate will be sent through My Health Connection. If you don’t have a My Health Connection account, please go to uchealth.org/myhealthconnection to set up an account.

To get an estimate over the phone, please call the patient estimates team at 877.349.8520 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

1. Log in to your account at My Health Connection.
2. From the main menu, choose Billing, then Estimates.
3. Click on Create a New Estimate.
4. Choose your procedure.
5. Your insurance plan will be chosen based on your account records. Confirm whether you wish to proceed with insurance or without insurance. If choosing with insurance, enter in any benefits details that are displayed on your insurance card.
6. Choose the location of your procedure/visit.
7. Your calculated estimate will appear on the page. You may choose to save or discard this estimate. All estimates are stored in your My Health Connection account for 30 days.

Please note: currently a limited number of procedures/visits are available for online estimates. The team is continually updating the tool based on need, and patients can expect to find more options in the future. Patients can contact the estimates line if the procedure is not available online.

• First, patients get a CPT or procedure code from their provider. This code can be used to search the procedure via My Health Connection as well as tell the patient estimates team what procedure the patient needs.
• Then, patients contact the patient estimates team in one of three ways:
  • Online through a My Health Connection account
  • Online through Guest estimates (non-UCHealth patient)
  • Over the phone at 877.349.8520 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• Estimates may be quoted with or without insurance. When confirming insurance, your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum contributions will be factored into an estimate.
• Estimates over the phone are also provided in writing upon request.

The team will not provide estimates for the following:

• Special discount self-pay packages (aka cash packages) provided by specific clinics
• Emergency department services
• Urgent care services
• Transplant services
• Clinical trials
• Research studies

In an effort to provide consistent information, the team will not be able to answer any questions for the following:

• Prior Authorization
• Payment plans
• Questions regarding charges
• In- and out-of-network coverage

For questions related to any of the above, please contact UCHealth customer service at 866.429.6045. You can also send us a message through My Health Connection.

• Hospital fees
• Professional fees if your provider is employed by UCHealth (UCHealth Medical Group)
• Applicable discounts with or without insurance
• For patients seeking services at University of Colorado Hospital, please contact the patient estimates team for CU Medicine pricing

The estimate that you receive will not include the following charges:

• Anesthesia, unless UCHealth Medical Group (UCHMG) is providing the service
• Third-party radiologists
• Third-party laboratory

• Patients are only able to select providers that have provided service at the given location selected. The “Any Provider” button is always available for selection at a given location.
• Patients can select the “Any Provider” field and receive an average allowed amount for the middle 80% with [Insert your plan name here] for any given location that is hospital and provider billing eligible.
• Not all estimates available via My Health Connection will have a provider fee. Patients are encouraged to send a customer service message via My Health Connection to inquire about provider fees.
• For patients seeking services at University of Colorado Hospital: CU Medicine is not included, as CU Medicine providers work at our hospital, but not for our hospital. Patients may send a customer service message via My Health Connection to inquire about CU Medicine pricing.

If the provider performing the procedure is employed by UCHealth (through UCHealth Medical Group), the patient is able to select a provider via My Health Connection, so the physician portion is included in the estimate if the provider has performed the service in the past.

CU Medicine providers work at UCHealth facilities, but not for UCHealth, so their charges are separate. Patients may send a customer service message via My Health Connection to obtain a CU Medicine estimate from the estimates team, or may call to obtain this information.

Some clinics offer special discounted self-pay packages for their services. These are the responsibility of the individual department where the patient is receiving care. The patient should contact that department to receive an estimate for any self-pay packages.

As with all other functions on My Health Connection, the patient estimates tool can be accessed by anyone who has been designated a patient’s proxy in their account.

For more information on who is eligible to be a proxy, please view the Sharing My Health Connection accounts information.

We encourage patients who have more than one insurance to work with their insurance providers to determine cost share. Currently our system is set up to calculate primary insurance estimates.

Unfortunately, no, estimates are not a guarantee of service of final billed services. We do our best to provide the most accurate quote with the given information we have at the time the estimate is generated.

If you have insurance, we expect any copayments that may be due at the time of service. Any balance that you may still owe will be sent to you in the form of a statement to make arrangements for payment.

If you are self-pay, we expect that payment is made at time of service, or that if willing able to work with our Financial Counselors to determine if you qualify for any programs we may offer.

If you received an estimate for an upcoming visit, you will be given the option to pay the estimated cost when you check in online. You can pay it all now, pay some or pay it later.

“Pricing transparency” is the term used to describe initiatives in the health care industry to provide meaningful pricing information to consumers. The health care industry is often complex and difficult for consumers to navigate. Pricing transparency is a means of providing consumers with price information for common services. Our hospital is committed to presenting pricing information on our hospital website.