Billing & Insurance
Your anesthesia bill, explained.
Anesthesia is billed separately from your surgeon and your surgery center. Here is how it works, what it is based on, and exactly who to call with questions.
Why is anesthesia a separate bill?
Your anesthesiologist is an independent physician — like your surgeon — so anesthesia professional fees are billed separately from the facility fee and the surgeon's fee. You may receive up to three bills for one procedure. Ours covers only your anesthesia care.
How anesthesia charges are calculated
Anesthesia billing follows a national standard: a base unit value for the type of procedure (set by the American Society of Anesthesiologists) plus time units for the actual duration of your anesthesia care, multiplied by a payor-specific rate. Because actual time varies, exact charges are not knowable before surgery — which is why we provide estimates rather than fixed quotes.
Insurance we work with
We work with most major commercial insurance plans as well as federal and state programs and workers' compensation. Coverage questions? Call our billing department before your procedure — five minutes can prevent a surprise.
Your rights under the No Surprises Act
Under the federal No Surprises Act, you are protected from certain unexpected out-of-network bills, and if you are uninsured or self-pay you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges before your procedure.
To request a Good Faith Estimate for anesthesia services, contact our billing department at 510-225-9090 ext. 1 or biller@pontineinc.com with your procedure type and scheduled date. If you receive a bill at least $400 higher than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute it — visit cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.
Billing contacts
Talk to a human.
Billing department
510-225-9090 ext. 1
biller@pontineinc.com
Payments & records: PO Box 910, Lake Forest, CA 92609