Billing frequently asked questions

We know health care billing can seem complicated — so we work hard to ensure your experience with Sharp is straightforward and accurate.

We process your bill in six steps.

1. When you go to the hospital for a medical procedure or to your doctor's office for a checkup, we confirm your billing information — including who is responsible for payment and which health insurance plan should be billed.

2. Following your medical procedure, our billing office files a claim with your primary health insurance for the services performed. In many cases, payment is sent directly to us from your health insurance provider.

3. If there is a problem with the information provided, and your insurance plan will not pay, our billing office attempts to correct the information and refile the claim.

4. After your claim is processed by your primary health insurance plan, our billing office will file claims with any secondary or supplemental insurance organizations that you have provided to us.

5. When all insurance has been processed, you are billed if there is any unpaid patient responsibility and will receive a statement in the mail. If you cannot pay the entire amount, Sharp HealthCare offers financial assistance for qualifying or eligible hospital bills.

6. Our billing office will make several attempts to collect payment. If you do not pay the entire amount or contact the billing office to arrange a payment plan, your account will be sent to a collection agency.

If you have any questions about the process or your specific bill, please don't hesitate to send us an email (select "Billing" in the form) or give us a call:

• Sharp hospitals: 858-499-2400

• Sharp Rees-Stealy: 858-499-2410

• SharpCare: 858-499-2044

• Sharp specialty groups: 858-346-4321

Request a price estimate to learn more about charges for services at a Sharp hospital or Sharp Rees-Stealy location.

View and pay your bills online using the Sharp app. When you create an account, you will be able to view your statements for Sharp Rees-Stealy and Sharp hospitals in one place, make payments and pay all your invoices by credit card, debit card or via your checking account in one transaction. You will also be able to save your preferred payment method for future use.

Pay as a guest or make a payment for a loved one by using our one-time payment form.

You can pay by credit or debit card or by check. You will need to provide your personal information and the invoice or visit number from your paper statement for each payment. You can also use this form to pay a bill for another person.

To pay by credit card over the phone, please call Patient Financial Services:

• Sharp hospitals: 858-499-2400

• Sharp Rees-Stealy: 858-499-2410

• SharpCare: 858-499-2044

• Sharp specialty groups: 858-346-4321

You may also mail your payment to the address listed on your statement.

Sign in to Sharp to make a partial payment on a bill. However, making a partial payment will not prevent a past-due bill from going to a collections agency.

Sharp HealthCare offers financial assistance for qualifying patients who need help with emergency or medically necessary care received in a Sharp hospital. Financial assistance is available for qualified low-income patients to assist with all or part of a hospital bill.

If you would like to discuss your bill or payment options, please give us a call:

• Sharp hospitals: 858-499-2400

• Sharp Rees-Stealy: 858-499-2410

• SharpCare: 858-499-2044

• Sharp specialty groups: 858-346-4321

As part of our billing system upgrade, we turned off our original bill pay platform. To make a payment for an old bill or installment on your payment plan that started prior to March 1, 2024, please call us Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.

• Sharp hospitals: 858-499-2400

• Sharp Rees-Stealy: 858-499-2410

• SharpCare: 858-499-2044

• Sharp specialty groups: 858-346-4321

To make changes to your payment plan that started prior to March 1, 2024, please call us Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.

To make changes to your payment plan for newer bills, sign in to Sharp.

Recently completed plans may not display in your billing summary. For payment plans that started prior to March 1, 2024, please call us Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.

As part of our billing system upgrade, we turned off our original bill pay platform. To make a payment for an old bill or installment on your payment plan that started prior to March 1, 2024, please call us Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.

• Sharp hospitals: 858-499-2400

• Sharp Rees-Stealy: 858-499-2410

• SharpCare: 858-499-2044

• Sharp specialty groups: 858-346-4321

Your bill will list the services you received under the "Summary of Patient Services."

If you still need answers, please send us an email (select "Billing" in the form) or give us a call:

• Sharp hospitals: 858-499-2400

• Sharp Rees-Stealy: 858-499-2410

• SharpCare: 858-499-2044

• Sharp Specialty Groups: 858-346-4321

It's not uncommon to receive statements or bills from more than one provider for one hospital visit. We're here to help shed light on the bills you may receive.

Every hospital visit involves both physician and hospital resources. Although physicians are licensed to practice at Sharp's hospitals, they are not Sharp HealthCare employees. This means the hospital and each of your treating physicians will send you a bill for their parts of your care.

For example, if you had an emergency room visit that required X-rays and lab tests, you may receive a bill from the hospital for technical resources, a bill from the emergency room physician for professional services, a bill from the radiologist for interpreting your X-rays and a bill from the pathologist for analyzing specimens from your lab tests.

Types of bills you may receive:

• Hospital bills

  Billing for services performed at a Sharp hospital for inpatient or outpatient care include: room and board, emergency room services, supplies, nursing care, therapy (physical, speech, etc.), surgeries, treatment, lab tests, radiology (X-rays) and more.

• Physician bills

  Billing for professional services performed by doctors at Sharp hospitals and medical offices include: office visits, minor procedures, surgeries, consultations, reviewing lab tests and X-rays and more.

• Contracted provider bills

  In addition to doctors, many contracted health care providers - ambulance companies, diagnostic services, labs and radiologists (outside of the hospital) - may bill you separately for their services.

• In-network and out-of-network services

  If you have health insurance, your insurance plan may have preferred "in-network" providers for outpatient lab services, ambulance services, outpatient surgery, physicians, specialty physicians, pharmacy and more. Only your health insurance plan can tell you who the contracted providers are for your particular plan and benefits.

  • In-network providers are contracted by your insurance plan to provide your health care services at pre-negotiated rates.

  • Out-of-network providers are not contracted by your insurance plan, and you may be responsible for paying full charges or a higher share of charges should these providers treat you.

If you have questions about your covered services, copays or deductibles — or which providers are in-network or out-of-network in your insurance plan — please call your health insurance company to confirm your coverage.

You may receive a bill from us after your health insurance plan processes our bill. The amount you are charged is the portion of your bill your insurance policy does not cover — it is based on what your insurance plan communicates to us on your explanation of benefits (EOB).

Your insurance plan also mails you an EOB, which details how they processed our bill and calculated your responsibility based on your individual insurance plan. If you believe your responsibility is inaccurate, please contact your insurance plan directly.

Every hospital visit involves both physician and hospital resources. Although the hospital and the physician may use the same language to describe each charge, their bills are for separate services. The physician's bill will be for the professional services. The hospital's bill will be for the technical resources and supplies, such as procedures and equipment, needles and scalpels or medications.

• Copay
  A copay is a predetermined (flat) fee that you pay for health care services, in addition to what your health insurance plan pays.

• Deductible
  A deductible is the annual amount that you must pay, out of pocket, before an insurance plan begins reimbursing for eligible services.

• Coinsurance
  Coinsurance takes place when you reach your deductible and you and your insurance plan share in paying a percentage of the remaining costs. The percentage you pay of the remaining costs depends on your plan. For example, if your deductible has been met and your coinsurance is 20 percent, your plan will cover the remaining 80 percent of covered services. Typically, you will pay your percentage of costs until you reach your plan's annual out-of-pocket maximum.

Please refer to our Billing, Collections and Bad Debt policy.

If you believe that the determination is not correct, you or your authorized representative has the right to appeal the decision by filing a grievance with your health plan. Please submit a copy of the front and back of your statement and a brief explanation of your situation, along with any other relevant information, to the address of your health plan. Find your health plan's address (PDF).

To request access to a minor’s account from the Sharp app:

1. Sign in to the Sharp app

2. Click Add patient at the top of your home screen. If you already have family connections, click Switch patient, then Add patient from the pop-up menu.

3. Fill out and submit request form

To request access to a minor’s account from sharp.com:

1. Sign in to Sharp

2. Click the menu in upper left corner (3 stacked lines)

3. Go to Account settings and choose Personalize

4. Click Request access to a minor’s record

5. Fill out and submit request form

Once your form is submitted, our Health Information Management Department will review your request and notify you of approval.

At this time, we are only able to grant access to accounts for dependent adults and minor children. Due to the sensitive nature of medical information, each person must have their own Sharp account. If you'd like to pay a bill for a loved one, use our one-time payment form.

Due to California privacy regulations, the information you can access for minor patients will depend on their age.

As the parent or guardian of a child aged 12 to 17, you cannot view billing information (including balances, statements and payment history) or other related items.

When you connect to a loved one's account, you can:

• View past statements and payment history from the last 18 months

• Save a payment method for quicker check out

• View and pay bills

Due to California privacy regulations, the information you can access for minor patients will depend on their age.

To access an adult account (age 18 and older), you must be invited. Whether you need to connect to someone else’s account or want to grant access to your own, the account owner must send an invitation from their Sharp account.

Patients age 12 and up can be invited to access an adult account.

The account owner can choose the level of access they wish to share: full access (clinical information, messaging and scheduling) or scheduling/messaging access (scheduling and messaging only).

To share account access from the Sharp app:

1. Sign in to the Sharp app

2. Click the account icon at the top right

3. Click Manage family accounts in the menu

4. Click Invite someone and follow instructions to complete the invite

To share account access from sharp.com:

1. Sign in to Sharp

2. Click the menu in upper left corner (3 stacked lines)

3. Go to Sharing and choose Share health records

4. Click Manage friends and family access

5. Click Invite someone and follow instructions to complete the invite

The invited adult will receive an email with a link to accept or decline the invitation. When the invite is accepted, account access is immediate.

Please print and use this permission to discuss protected health information form to allow someone to speak to Sharp Rees-Stealy representatives regarding your billing information.

Return completed forms by:

• Email: SRS.Forms@sharp.com

• Fax: 858-636-2424

• Mail: Attention HIM
  300 Fir Street
  San Diego, CA 92101