Our Policies

1. Appointments 

At Children's Medical Associates, LLC we try to keep your wait time to a minimum and ask that you arrive a few minutes earlier than your scheduled appointment time so that we can get you in, and out, on time. To help achieve this, here are a few things you can do:

• All patients under 18 yrs of age, should be accompanied by a parent/guardian for each visit;

• Have your insurance card ready to show us at the front desk upon arrival;

• If you have a change in your insurance coverage, please arrive 20 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can verify your benefits;

• If you are a new patient, please arrive 20 minutes before your scheduled appointment with all of your child's past paperwork (lab test results, immunization records etc. - if applicable) to complete our new patient process;

• No more than 2 siblings should be scheduled consecutively for physicals/well visits;

 We do NOT accept walk-in appointments. No exceptions!

(Siblings of scheduled patients will be considered walk-ins if they do not have an appointment) 

2. No Show/Missed Appointments

 Appointments are given with an allotted time slot for each patient based on their needs for each visit. If we are not notified that you will be unable to make your appointment, we continue to hold your time slot, which could be given to another child in need. 

- You are considered a No Show/Missed Appointment if you:

• Do not call to notify us that you will not be able to make your appointment at least 4 hours prior to your scheduled time.

• Are more than 15 minutes late for your scheduled appointment

• The no-show fee charge will be $20.00 due immediately

(The charge above has been lowered from $75.00 under previous management. At CMA, like every other practice, we still need to cover our expenses for each time slot that your child has missed.)

3. Additional Paperwork

•  If you have paperwork that needs to be completed for your child's school (sports physicals etc.), it should be brought in at the time of the visit so that we can complete as we get the results. There is a $15.00 charge to compensate for the additional time it will require.

• For any other paperwork that needs to be completed, there may be a $15-$25 charge depending on complexity.

4. Non-Covered Services

There are certain services that your insurance company will not cover and as a result you will be financially responsible for payment in full. These include but are not limited to motor vehicle accidents. 

 5. Prescription Refills

CMA requires 48 hours for prescription refills.

6. Forms of Payment, Insurance and Copays

  We accept the following forms of payment:

• All forms of Debit & Credit Cards (except for Discover & American Express)

• Money Orders

• Cash 

Note that if your insurance is from a private carrier (not affiliated with Medicaid), we require a credit card on file. These are securely saved and encrypted for your safety on our portal. If you leave a credit card on file with us and you owe a balance according to your insurance carrier, your card on file will be charged. If that credit card is declined, there will be a $35 fee added to your balance.  Please remember to update your form of payment with our practice.

 7. Communication Compliance

We would like to offer our patients the opportunity to use convenient forms of communication with their permission. At times, there is a need for us to retrieve from you or send medical information pertinent to your child's care to you, These forms of communication may be intercepted, altered, or used without detection or authorization. 

If you choose to opt out of these forms of communication for medical information, please let us know. Opting out of either email or text communication for medical information, means that you are willing to receive this information via fax and can provide a working fax number OR you are willing to collect paperwork in person and understand that this may incur additional fees.

 8. Emergencies and After Hours Care

• If your child is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, please call 911 immediately!

• If you need advice or have a question that can be answered by a nurse, there are free nurse advice lines provided by insurance companies you may call, including:

                    - Amerigroup: 1-800-600-4441

                    - Wellcare: 1-800-919-8807 

                    - Wellstar Urgent Care Line: 770-333-1300

• If your child needs urgent care after our business hours, please call our office and you will be connected to our answering service.