FAQ

Our address is 4344 Woodlands Boulevard, Suite 240, Castle Rock, CO 80104.

Yes, we welcome patients of all ages for all services including medical and surgical services and hearing aid fittings.

Castle Rock Ear Associates accepts Medicare, TRICARE, and nearly all commercial insurances. However, every insurance plan is different so you should contact your insurance company prior to your appointment to confirm that we are a network provider. Castle Rock Ear Associates is not a Health First Colorado/Medicaid provider.

Castle Rock Ear Associates is a contracted network provider with nearly all commercial major medical insurance companies. Examples include United Healthcare, Anthem, Kaiser, Humana, Cigna, and Aetna.

We are a network provider for Christian Care Ministries Medi-Share. However, members of other cost-sharing programs are required to pay in full for their visit at the time of service.

While we welcome patients with indemnity and limited benefit plans (e.g., Freedom Life Insurance) we will not submit a claim for your visit. We require patients with indemnity insurance plans to pay in full at the time of service.

We do not accept medical discount cards.

Every patient is unique and so is every patient’s visit. Many of our hearing aid services have set fees or may be complimentary. But if you are seeing a physician or physician assistant we do not know in advance which diagnostic tests, procedures, and treatments you will require during your visit. As a result, we are unable to provide an estimate of the cost determined by your insurer or provide the CPT codes that will be submitted on your insurance claim.

As a sub-specialty clinic, we provide an in-depth examination of your condition. For example, we may require additional tests for a particular type of hearing loss or a procedure to address symptoms of vertigo. Since these issues cannot be determined until you are examined by our doctors, we cannot provide a cost estimate or billing codes prior to your visit.

Castle Rock Ear Associates is contracted with all of the major commercial insurance companies. However, many insurance companies now offer limited network plans and even though we are a network provider for virtually all of an insurer’s members, as a sub-specialty clinic we are occasionally excluded from limited network plans. We encourage all patients to contact their insurer to confirm that we are a network provider for their plan. If you do have a limited network plan and Dr. Hegarty is out-of-network, contact your insurer and/or PCP to request authorization to see him. Castle Rock Ear Associates is out-of-network for the following plans:

• Centura Colorado Doctors Plan
• HMO Colorado Blue Priority
• Cigna Medicare Advantage Plans
• Anthem MediBlue Dual Advantage HMO SNP
• Colorado Medicaid/First Health Colorado

Our scheduling system sends a text and/or email confirmation request for each appointment you have at our office. So if you are scheduled for a hearing test and a visit with one of our doctors on the same day you will receive two confirmation requests, and perhaps even three. You will receive your appointment confirmations(s) 2 business days prior to your appointment. Please arrive in time for your earliest appointment time. Please call our office if you have any questions about your appointment time.

Many insurance plans provide coverage for hearing aids, and state law require insurance coverage for children under 18. Medicare Part B does not pay for hearing aids but some Medicare supplement and replacement plans do provide hearing aid coverage. At Castle Rock Ear Associates, we will determine if you have a hearing aid benefit and submit your claim.

If you have a limited benefit medical insurance plan we encourage you to confirm exactly what is covered by your plan before your visit. Many limited benefit plans include a fixed benefit for a physician office visit, such as $75 or $100. However, this benefit may only apply to the office visit. Your plan may not cover the diagnostic tests or procedures that are routinely performed during an appointment at Castle Rock Ear Associates.

We do not submit claims for indemnity insurance plans. You will be required to pay for your visit in full when you check-in for your appointment; but you can submit your charges to your insurer for reimbursement.

A new patient appointment with Dr. Hegarty will require 60-90 minutes. This includes a hearing test, your visit with Dr. Hegarty, and the time required to complete new patient forms. If you would like to shorten your appointment time please download and complete your new patient forms prior to your visit and bring them with you to your appointment. We will also email you demographic forms that can be completed online prior to your visit.

A follow-up appointment with a hearing test will require 30-45 minutes. Appointments without a hearing test will be about 15 minutes shorter.

If you plan to use insurance for your visit with Dr. Hegarty, we will not know how much it will cost you until after your insurance claim is processed. Your insurance company determines the amount Dr. Hegarty is paid for his services and how much of that balance, if any, you are required to pay. However, the amount that Dr. Hegarty bills your insurance will depend on your individual needs and cannot be precisely determined prior to your visit.

Your insurance company can provide you with information on your deductible, co-insurance, and co-pays to help you determine the extent of your patient responsibility.

If you would like to privately pay for an office visit or procedure, please call our office for more information on our fees. Private pay patients must pay in full for their visit when they check-in.

If you would like to privately pay for an office visit or procedure, please call our office for more information. Private pay patients must pay in full for their visit when they check-in. However, our self-pay fees are pre-determined and will not vary for a single visit.

Please call our office or use our contact us* form to request a copy of your medical chart for your personal use. After confirming your identity, we will post copies of your medical records on our secure Patient Portal. You may also pick up a copy at our office. If you would like a copy of your complete medical chart shipped to you, we require payment of a $25 fee prior to their release. We use UPS service with tracking so we cannot ship to a PO box.

If you would like us to send a copy of your medical records to another physician’s office, please download and complete the medical record request form on our patient forms page. Once we receive your signed request we will fax your records to your physician’s office.

^{*Please do not include any protected health information in your request.}

You should not eat, smoke, or consume caffeine within 8 hours of your VNG balance test, and we recommend that you do not wear any make-up. You should not be taking the following types of medications prior to your test: vestibular (dizziness) suppressants such as meclizine, antihistamines, pain relievers, and antidepressant, anti-anxiety, or sedative medication which you have been using for less than 8 weeks. Do not stop taking any prescription medication without consulting the physician who prescribed it for you.

Please plan to arrive 20-30 before your new patient appointment to complete the required paperwork. You may also download and complete your new patient forms prior to your visit and bring them with you, in which case you will need to arrive five minutes before your appointment to complete the check-in process.

If your insurance card has multiple copay types we will always collect the highest office visit copay on your card. It will be the specialist copay or the highest tier or level copay on your card. We collect copays when you check-in for your appointment.

We collect copays for every clinical appointment in our office, including office visits, diagnostic testing, and cochlear implant programming, regardless of whether your appointment includes a visit with Dr. Hegarty.

Most insurances require a copay for all types of appointments. If you paid a copay for a visit that did not require it we will refund your copay after your insurance claim has paid. We will also reimburse any copays collected after you have reached your out-of-pocket maximum. Please note: Medicare Advantage plans require copays for all visits.

Some insurances require copays even if they are not shown on your insurance card. We will collect Specialist copays for the following insurances:

• TRICARE Prime retirees: $30
• BCBS FEP Blue beneficiaries: $40
• AARP Medicare Supplement Plan N: $20

Please note that some Anthem BCBS and Medicare Supplement Plans may have copays that are not shown on your card. If your billing history indicates a copayment we will ask you to pay that copay amount when you check-in for your appointment.

We will not collect copays if you have secondary insurance other than Health First Colorado/Medicaid. If you have commercial insurance and Medicaid as a secondary you will have to pay the copay, if any, on your commercial insurance card.

We do not collect copays for post-operative visits in the global period.

If you have an HMO, Select, or Limited Network plans your insurer may require that you have an authorization from your primary care provider to see Dr. Hegarty. If you are unsure, please contact your insurer prior to your visit to determine if authorization is required.

Please note that a referral from your physician may not suffice if your plan requires authorization. A referral is a request that your doctor sends to Castle Rock Ear Associates to ask that we see you as a patient. It does not mean that your referring physician or PCP has contacted your insurance company to obtain authorization to see Dr. Hegarty.

If your plan requires authorization, your PCP will have to contact your insurer and request an authorization number for your visit(s) to Castle Rock Ear Associates prior to making your appointment. If you require authorization but do not have one prior to your visit you will be responsible for the cost of your visit.

All TRICARE Prime beneficiaries require authorization to see Dr. Hegarty.

If you have TRICARE Prime, you must have authorization from TRICARE to see Dr. Hegarty. Our office will call you to schedule your visit once we receive your authorization number. An existing referral for another physician is not transferable to Dr. Hegarty.

If you have TRICARE Select or TRICARE for Life, you do not need a referral or authorization to see Dr. Hegarty.

If you have TRICARE Prime and are on non-active duty you can use the Point of Service option to see Dr. Hegarty without a referral. Castle Rock Ear Associates accepts assignments for TRICARE services.

Yes, we can program almost any type of programmable hearing aid. Please request an appointment with our Audiology Department.

We have several payment methods available. If you would like to use a credit, debit, or CareCredit card you can use our online bill payment portal. No login or account information is required to pay your bill online.

You may also mail a check to our office or call our office to pay with a credit card or CareCredit.

We accept all major credit cards, personal checks with photo ID, cash, and CareCredit. Please note that payment in full will be collected when you check-in for your appointment.

Yes, if you have Medicare Part B as your primary coverage and a Medicaid plan as secondary or tertiary coverage you are able to receive care at Castle Rock Ear Associates.

Even though we are a non-participating provider we will require a copy of your current Health First Colorado card when you check-in for your appointment.

Yes, if you have commercial insurance or Medicare as your primary coverage and a Medicaid plan as secondary or tertiary coverage you are able to receive care at Castle Rock Ear Associates.

If your Medicaid plan is secondary to commercial insurance, we will collect your primary insurance copay when you check-in for your appointment unless you have a Medicare Advantage plan. You will also be billed for any deductible balance that is not covered by your primary insurance. The state of Colorado requires that you sign a waiver that states that you know that Castle Rock Ear Associates is not a Health First Colorado/Medicaid provider and that you will be billed for copays and/or deductibles that are not covered by your primary insurance. You will not be required to sign a waiver if you have a Medicare Advantage plan.

Even though we are a non-participating provider we will require a copy of your current Health First Colorado card when you check-in for your appointment.

No, unfortunately, state law prevents non-participating providers such as Castle Rock Ear Associates from offering services to patients with Medicaid as their primary insurance.

We will be in-network if your limited benefit medical plan utilizes a PPO physician network in which we participate. If your indemnity plan does not utilize a PPO network with which we are contracted you will be required to pay in full for your visit at the time of service.

We may be able to repair your Beltone hearing aids. Please contact our Audiologists with your request.

Your insurance company can provide you with an approximate quote for the amount of a surgical procedure you will be responsible for paying. We encourage you to contact your insurer so you are aware of the fees that will be applied to your deductible and coinsurance. Please be aware that you may be responsible for the cost of all or most of your surgery if you have a high deductible that has not been met. Please contact our office if you require assistance or information regarding your procedure.

If you do not medical insurance and would like to privately pay for a surgical procedure, please call our office for more information.

Recently implanted Cochlear implants are MRI-safe please ask your audiologist for further information.

Yes, we close our office for these major holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. We keep our Google and Yelp business listings updated with our holiday office closures, please refer to them if you are wondering if we are closed on a particular day.