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Whittier Street Health Center Patient Booklet_2024

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A. If you need to make an appointment, please call the main number at (617) 427-1000. Your primary care provider will also give you card that lists the different members of your care team with phone numbers that may be helpful.

A. Yes. If you need to be seen right away, you can come to the health center and we will try to schedule you with a member of your team. If we are unable to schedule you with a member of your team, you will be seen in our Urgent Care Clinic.

A. Call the main health center number at (617) 427-1000 to make an appointment to see your provider. You can also make an appointment at the front desk while the health center is open. We accept ALL Health Insurance.

A. Each patient will be given information about who is on their team and the different roles they play. If you have questions, you can ask your primary care provider about who is on your team and who you should contact for different needs. Depending on your question or need, different team members will be able to help. If you are seen by another doctor away from Whittier, such as in the Emergency Room or at an appointment for a specialist, it is necessary for you or a family member to let your Medical Home team know. This will allow us to continue to coordinate your health care.

A. Yes. Whittier Street Health Center is a Patient Centered Medical Home, which is a team-based approach to providing care to our patients. Your team includes your selected primary care provider, another provider who can see you if your provider is not available, a nurse, a medical assistant, a case manager and anyone else you need on your team, such as someone to help with health insurance or behavioral health staff. This team-based approach will help Whittier provide better care to our patients. Your team will get to know you and be able to respond to your needs more quickly. To learn more about Whittier’s providers go online or call (617) 427-1000 and select your department.

A. Yes. Whittier Street Health Center will see anyone regardless of insurance or income status. We will also help you sign up for health insurance.  This practice serves all patients regardless of inability to pay. Discounts for essential services are offered based on family size and income

A. If you are experiencing a life threatening emergency, please call 911 or proceed to the emergency room. Inform staff in the emergency room that you are a patient of Whittier Street Health Center and they will contact our physician on call.

If you need to reach Whittier after hours to speak with a provider, please call (617) 427-1000. Our answering service will contact the physician on call.

A. The health center is open from 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM on Monday – Friday and from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM on Saturdays.

Whittier Street Health Center will see anyone regardless of insurance or income status. We have a sliding scale fee that allows us to offer free or reduced cost care to those who are eligible. We will also help you sign up for health insurance.

When you need to reach us after hours, please call (617) 427-1000. Our answering service will take your name, number and health issue and will contact the physician on call, who will return your call as soon as possible. In the event that you may be experiencing a life threatening emergency, please call 911 or proceed to the emergency room. Inform staff in the emergency room that you are a patient of Whittier Street Health Center and they will contact our physician on call.

If you need to make an appointment, please call the main number at (617) 427-1000. Your primary care provider will also give you card that lists the different members of your care team with phone numbers that may be helpful.

If you need to be seen right away, you can come to the health center and we will try to make an appointment with a member of you team. If we are unable to make an appointment with a member of your team, you will be able to visit our Urgent Care Clinic.

The health center is open from 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM on Monday – Friday and from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM on Saturdays.

Call the main health center number at (617) 427-1000 to make an appointment to see your provider. You can also make an appointment at the front desk while the health center is open. We accept ALL Health Insurance.

Your team includes your primary care provider, a nurse practitioner, a nurse, a medical assistant, a case manager, and whoever else you need on your team, such as someone to help with health insurance and behavioral health staff.
Once your team is identified it will be necessary for you or a family member to let the Medical Home team know if you are seen by and other provider. This will allow us to continue to coordinate your health care.

We believe that the team based approach will help Whittier provide better care to our patients. Your team will get to know you and will be able to respond to your needs more quickly.

A Patient Centered Medical Home is a new model of health care that involves a team-based approach to providing care to our patients.

Discounted and Free Care Services at Whittier

Whittier is a member of the National Health

Service Corps 

For questions or inquiries please call 617-989-3165

When you get emergency care or get treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing.

You may contact 1-800-985-3059.

Visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers for more information about your rights under federal law.

• You are only responsible for paying your share of the cost (like the copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles that you would pay if the provider or facility was in-network). Your health plan will pay out-of-network providers and facilities directly.
• Your health plan generally must:
•  Cover emergency services without requiring you to get approval for services in advance (prior authorization).
• Cover emergency services by out-of-network providers.
• Base what you owe the provider or facility (cost-sharing) on what it would pay an in-network provider or facility and show that amount in your explanation of benefits.
• Count any amount you pay for emergency services or out-of-network services toward your deductible and out-of-pocket limit.

Emergency services
If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility, the most the provider or facility may bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount (such as copayments and coinsurance). You can’t be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services you may get after you’re in stable condition, unless you give written consent and give up your protections not to be balanced billed for these post-stabilization services.

Certain services at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center
When you get services from an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, certain providers there may be out-of-network. In these cases, the most those providers may bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount. This applies to emergency medicine, anesthesia, pathology, radiology, laboratory, neonatology, assistant surgeon, hospitalist, or intensivist services. These providers can’t balance bill you and may not ask you to give up your protections not to be balance billed.

If you get other services at these in-network facilities, out-of-network providers can’t balance bill you, unless you give written consent and give up your protections.
You’re never required to give up your protections from balance billing. You also aren’t required to get care out-of-network. You can choose a provider or facility in your plan’s network.

When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as a copayment, coinsurance, and/or a deductible. You may have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a health care facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network.

“Out-of-network” describes providers and facilities that haven’t signed a contract with your health plan. Out-of-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay, and the full amount charged for a service. This is called “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward your annual out-of-pocket limit.

“Surprise billing” is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can’t control who is involved in your care—like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider.

The Whittier Street Health Center (“WSHC”) complies with applicable federal and Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Civil Rights laws. The health center will not discriminate against patients based upon the individual’s race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, marital status, income, or military service. Nor will the health center discriminate in the provision of services to an individual because of the individual’s insurance status, because the individual is unable to pay, or because payment for those services would be made under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

WSHC provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as qualified sign-language interpreters and written information in large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, or other formats.

WSHC provides free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as qualified interpreters and information written in other languages.

If you need these services, contact WSHC. If you believe that WSHC has failed to provide these services or has discriminated against you, you can file a grievance in person, by mail, or by phone:

WSHC
Sr. Director of Operations
1290 Tremont Street
Roxbury, MA 02120
617-427-1000

If you need help filing a grievance, WSHC is available to help you. You can also file a Civil Rights complaint with the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal or by mail or phone at:

US Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW Room 509F
HHH Building, Washington, DC 20201
800-368-1019; TDD 800-537-7697

Complaint forms are available here.