Added benefits 2012 letter:

Dear Village Pediatrics' Families,

We hope the end of the year finds you all healthy and happy.  It is a very rewarding experience for us to provide healthcare services to your child and we are honored that you have chosen to trust your child’s healthcare to us.  We are grateful for the response to our recent patient satisfaction survey, and are considering some changes to further improve your office experience.

Our "Added Benefits" plan has been a mandatory requirement of the practice since January 1st, 2010. Our Added Benefits fees will NOT increase this year although we do now require college students to participate at discounted rate. This modest per-child administrative fee is for non-covered and non-reimbursed services that are typically charged for in medical offices. This fee has allowed us provide personalized and prompt attention to your needs without dramatically increasing our volume, dropping insurance plans, or significantly raising our cash fees. We continue to offer 24/7/365 access to our providers, without the use of phone triage services. The fee also allows us to maintain our website, emails, electronic medical records and eprescribing benefits. There are no additional fees for the above administrative services.

Added Benefits Plan:

• One child - $150/year
• Two children - $250/year
• Three or more children - $325/year
• College student - $75/year

There is a $20 discount for paying by December 5th. If you have not paid by January 7th, you will be contacted by our office to find out how you would like to pay.

To complete your 2012 enrollment, please follow these steps

1. Carefully Review our UPDATED Financial Policy and sign the authorization form. Be sure to include your designated credit card for your family’s Added Benefits payment and to keep on file (this information is stored in a safe and HIPPA secure payment portal.)

** Deduct your $20 discount if paying prior to December 5th.

2.     Fax (203 291-0830) or mail the form to our office. We will email you a receipt for your AB payment.

3.     If you prefer to pay by check you can mail or drop off the check and form in our office.

For a list of frequently asked questions about our AB plan, visit www. villagepedi.com/added-benefits-plan. Please direct any questions or comments about the added benefits plan to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . A physician or a member of our staff will get back to you promptly.

If your family is experiencing a financial hardship, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to arrange an alternative payment schedule. If you are a new patient, and you are dissatisfied with our service, we will refund your added benefits if transferring prior to December 31, 2012.

Thank you,

Dr. Jenn and Dr. Nikki

Common Questions Regarding the Annual Administrative Fee

Why did this fee come about?

Insurance reimbursements have not kept up with increasing costs of providing care. We know for the majority of our families it is important that we continue to accept health insurance and hope with this annual administrative fee we can continue on insurance plans.

Most pediatric practices depend financially on seeing a high volume of patients, and using physician extenders to cover the majority of phone care and many patient visits.  Village Pediatrics is committed to delivering physician driven care, same day service, and 24/7 access to your physician, which affects the volume of patients we can see.

Why only one fee per family, not a fee for each non-covered service?

We struggled with the fairest way to institute a fee for non-covered costs. In short, an annual fee per family is the simplest way for us to spread these costs across the year for each family.

What will happen if this does not work?

If families feel this is unfair, then our practice cannot survive. We cannot cover our overhead and still offer a level of service we can ethically support. We will be forced to either drop all insurance plans and raise cash fees, or increase the number of patients we see significantly, affecting the time physicians can spend with each patient.

What if I pay the fee and am not happy?

If in the first year as a new patient in our practice you are not satisfied and wish to transfer then we will refund you the full amount of your fee.

How will the fee be implemented?

The fee will take effect every January 1st. We ask that you pay the bill when received. If necessary we will remind you about payment when booking appointments. If you come to an appointment without paying the fee, we will see your child for a sick visit and expect payment at that time.

You do not take my insurance. Do I still have to pay the annual fee?

Yes. The annual fee applies to all families in the practice. It covers administrative costs and services that are not covered or paid for by insurance or cash fees.

My child rarely needs the doctor- why pay for a service we don’t use?

Fortunately most people never need to use their disability or life insurance, but they still pay for it.  Our practice is set up to provide services in a prompt and personal manner no matter when or if you need us.  Unfortunately, we have seen many usually healthy kids in crisis- whether it be medical, social or emotional- and we always make the time to support and guide you through the experience.