02 May
by Derrick Vander Waal
SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – The minimum fee that patients are required to pay for a dental visit at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center is going down by $10.
SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – The minimum fee that patients are required to pay for a dental visit at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center is going down by $10.
As a result, patients who are at 100 percent or below the federal poverty level now will pay $40 instead of $50 for a dental appointment.
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| The minimum charge for a dental appointment has been reduced from $50 to $40 under an updated sliding-fee scale that went into effect today (Monday, May 2) at Promise Community Health Center. The minimum fee applies to patients who are at or below the federal poverty level. |
That change was part of an updated sliding-fee discount scale that went into effect today (Monday, May 2) at Promise. The sliding-fee program discounts the bills of patients based on their ability to pay. Eligibility for the program is based on family income and size.
Promise’s new vision services also has a minimum fee of $40 for exams. That does not include the cost for eye glasses. The minimum fees for Promise’s other services did not change under the updated sliding-fee scale: $25 for medical, $40 for behavioral health and $15 for lab services.
In addition to the minimum payment change, dental costs also were changed from set amounts to percentages of the regular charges for patients with household incomes between 101 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Patients between 101-133 percent of FPL will pay the greater amount of 25 percent of the regular charges for an appointment or the minimum fee of $40, patients between 134-166 percent of FBL will pay the greater of 50 percent or $40; and patients between 167-199 percent of FBL will pay the greater of 75 percent or $40.
The updated sliding-fee scale also had one other change. The income categories for which patients receive a discount has been broken down into four categories instead of three: 100 percent or below the federal poverty level, 101-133 percent of FPL, 134-166 percent of FPL and 167-199 of FPL. Patients who have household incomes at 200 percent or greater that FPL will continue to pay 100 percent of charges as they did before.
Click here to view Promise’s updated sliding-fee scale.
Promise Community Health Center, headquartered in Sioux Center, is the only Federally Qualified Health Center in the far northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, prenatal, dental, vision and behavioral health services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org.
TO APPLY:
To apply for Promise Community Health Center’s sliding-fee program, visit with Jessica Mora or Fatima Arteaga of Promise’s outreach team. Call Promise at 712-722-1700 or come in during Promise’s open hours to talk to them: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays. The outreach assistance is provided free of charge. To apply for the sliding-fee scale, you will be required to provide your most recent pay stubs for the last 30 days, your latest income tax return or an unemployment benefit statement.
