We participate with most major insurance plans however; you should contact your insurance provider to determine if our services are covered under your plan or if an insurance referral is needed. If a referral is required, it is the patient's responsibility to obtain this referral from your primary care physician.
Twin Cities Spine Center's (TC Spine) business office is affiliated with Allina Health, who manages all our insurance contracts. Because of this affiliation, we bill under Allina Health's Tax ID and NPI numbers, so the bill you receive will come from Allina Health.
Information you may need to know if you talk with your insurance:
- Twin Cities Spine Center / Allina Health Tax ID: 363261413.
Twin Cities Spine Center / Allina Health NPI: 1669871455.
Learn more about the insurance plans in which Allina participates.
TC Spine and Allina have business office representatives that are available to assist you with the financial aspects of your care. If you do not find the answer to your question in this section, please contact us at 612.262.5680.
Prior Authorization for Imaging and Radiology Procedures
Your insurance may require prior authorization (prior approval) of certain imaging and radiology procedures. In most cases, the radiology group providing the service to you will obtain this authorization. If not, TC Spine will obtain this authorization if it is required. Once the authorization has been completed, you will be contacted to schedule the procedure. It is always best to contact your insurance to verify if this authorization is required.
Surgical Prior Authorizations
Most spine surgeries require prior authorization (prior approval) from your insurance company. We will submit this prior authorization request on your behalf. Depending on your insurance, it could take an average of 10 to 14 business days for a response. Our patient liaisons are here to guide you through this process. Please call 612.775.6314 to speak to one of our representatives. Please call our patient liaisons if you should need a price estimate for our surgeons' fees.
Learn more about our surgical prior authorization process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You should bring your insurance card with you to all appointments.
Some insurance companies require a referral before you can be seen by a specialist. You are required to secure any necessary referrals or approvals prior to your appointment with TC Spine.
Should you require surgery, our patient liaisons are here to help guide you through the prior authorization process. Depending on what your insurance company requires, our liaisons will gather TC Spine records and possibly records from other providers you have seen. They will submit this documentation to your insurance company for consideration. They will contact you if further assistance is required. (Note: If you call your insurance company to check the status of the authorization request, you may not be given the most up-to-date information, because the patient customer service call center is separate from the medical review department that we contact.)
While our patient liaisons are here to help, you may want to ask your insurance company some of the following questions:
- Is my TC Spine provider a member of my insurance network?
- Do I need an insurance referral for this surgery?
- How much will my insurance cover if I have surgery? (You will need to work with our patient liaisons to gather codes to give to your insurance company.)
- What does my insurance cover for outpatient surgery? For inpatient surgery?
- What will my out-of-pocket expenses be, i.e., copayment, deductible, co-insurance, etc.?
Our patient liaisons are able to help provide you with a cost estimate for our surgeon charges. There may be other costs such as hospital fees, co-surgeon fees, anesthesia, imaging, intra-operative monitoring, etc., associated with your surgery. These fees are billed by the appropriate company and/or Allina. Our patient liaisons cannot give you an estimate on those fees, but they can suggest how you can find a cost estimate from those facilities.
Copayments are due at the time of service.
We accept VISA, Discover, Master Card, Cash, Check and HSA credit cards.
Once your insurance company has processed your claim, Allina Health will send you a statement for any remaining balance you may owe. The statement will have your charges, what your insurances have paid and what your responsibility will be. If you should have any questions about your bill or the process, please call 612.262.5680 to speak with a representative.
Yes. There are options available for those who have difficulty paying high medical bills. Please call 612.262.5680 to discuss what your options may be. Visit Allina Health for more information.
No Surprise Act Good Faith Estimates
The federal No Surprise Act became effective January 1, 2022. The law aims to help patients understand healthcare costs in advance of care and to minimize unforeseen or surprise medical bills.
Under the new law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services.
To obtain an estimate for Twin Cities Spine Center’s Office Visit and/or x-rays, please call 612-775-6275.
To obtain a Spine Surgery estimate, please click here: Billing | Pay bills online | Allina Health or call 612-262-5680.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit: www.cms.gov/nosurprises (https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises) or Call 1-800-985-3059.