Before billing you, CentraState will submit a claim to your health insurance provider, including Medicare and Medicaid if applicable, and any secondary insurance. If you owe a balance that was not covered by your insurance, or if you are a self-pay patient, you will receive a statement by mail.
- To pay a bill for dates of service March 12, 2022 or prior, you may pay your bill via standard mail, or by calling our dedicated customer service department for these accounts at 866-275-1986.
- To pay a bill for dates of service March 13, 2022 or after, you may pay your bill via standard mail, by calling the billing department at 1-833-899-0028 or by logging in to the MyChart patient portal.
If you need assistance paying your bills, financial counselors are available to help you. Please see Financial Resources below for more information.
Understanding Your Statement
After receiving care at CentraState, you will receive a statement describing the charges. Depending on the service provided, your bill could include a single charge or many charges. The statement will include balance due, if any, and information regarding reimbursements from your insurance provider, Medicare or Medicaid. CentraState will work closely with patients and their insurance companies regarding payment, however patients have the final responsibility of settling their accounts. Please see Billing FAQs below for some common questions about your statement.
Billing FAQs
Yes. You may contact the Credit Department by calling 732-294-7065. Our hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. In order for us to best serve you, please have your billing statement or account number available for the representative who answers your call.
You may receive separate bills from physicians you did not see in person. Such bills are for the professional services provided by these physicians—for example, reading and interpreting test results or providing surgical services—while you were hospitalized.
These physicians are independent professionals who are not employed by CentraState, but have privileges to perform medical services here. They may include pathologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, cardiologists and other specialists. Their services are not reflected in your basic hospital bill, and they are required to submit separate bills.
If you have questions regarding a hospital-based physician bill, please contact the physician’s billing office. A complete list of Contracted Physician Groups can be found here.
Physicians and Physicians Groups We Employ
CentraState also employs physicians. While these physicians are hospital employees, you may still receive a separate bill for their services in the event they process their own billing. A complete list of the physicians or physician groups that we employ can be found here.
Patients unable to pay their account balance in full may set up monthly payment arrangements by either going to our online payment center and selecting auto-pay or by contacting the Credit Department at 732-294-7065. If the patient and CentraState mutually agree on a payment schedule and payments are received as agreed, no further collection action will be taken.
Patients scheduled for elective admissions or elective outpatient procedures, must make arrangements prior to their admission for the payment of any amounts that will not be covered by insurance. Any patient having inadequate or no insurance coverage will be asked to make appropriate deposits at the time of admission. For information about deposits and pre-payment options, call 732-294-2632.
Charity Care assistance is free or reduced-charge care that is available to patients who receive inpatient and outpatient services at acute care hospitals throughout the state of New Jersey.
Charity Care is available to New Jersey residents who:
- Have no health coverage or have coverage that pays only part of the bill;
- Are ineligible for any private or governmental sponsored coverage (such as Medicaid);
- Meet the income and asset criteria described below
Charity Care may be available to non-New Jersey residents, subject to specific provisions (such as emergency medical conditions).
Income Criteria
Patients with family gross income less than or equal to 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (“FPG”) are eligible for 100% charity care coverage. Patients with family gross income greater than 200% but less than or equal to 300% of FPG are eligible for discounted care under the Charity Care program. Free or discounted charges are determined by the following fee schedule:
| Income as a Percentage of HHS Poverty Income Guidelines | Percentage of Medicaid Rate Paid by Patient |
| Less than or equal to 200% | 0% of Medicaid Rate |
| Greater than 200% but less than or equal to 225% | 20% of Medicaid Rate |
| Greater than 225% but less than or equal to 250% | 40% of Medicaid Rate |
| Greater than 250% but less than or equal to 275% | 60% of Medicaid Rate |
| Greater than 275% but less than or equal to 300% | 80% of Medicaid Rate |
| Greater than 300% | Uninsured Discount Rate Available |
Assets Criteria
A patient’s individual assets cannot exceed $7,500 and family assets cannot exceed $15,000 as of the date of service in order to be eligible. Spend down of assets, through partial payment of the hospital bill is allowed to enable the patient to qualify for Charity Care. The amount for which the patient is responsible after partial charity care shall be limited to 30% of income.
Financial Resources
Charges may include room and board, medical procedures, supplies, medication or testing. Charges for patient care provided may fluctuate based on variables such as complexity of care and physician decisions made during the course of care delivery. If you have health insurance, you will be responsible for payments established by your health plan, such as specified deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and any non-covered services. Please check with your insurance for those amounts.
Chargemaster
The hospital chargemaster is a comprehensive listing of items billable to a patient or a health insurance provider. This information is not necessarily useful for determining out-of-pocket expenses or comparison shopping between hospitals. Patients seeking an estimate of out-of-pocket expenses prior to receiving care at CentraState, can contact our Insurance Verification line at 732-294-2632.
Average Charges
A diagnostic related grouping, or DRG, is how Medicare and other health insurance companies determine payment for a patient’s hospital stay. The charges are almost always not the price paid. The assignment of the DRG, based on patient diagnoses, procedures and other factors, determines the fixed amount the insurer will pay.
To apply for financial assistance, please complete the NJ Hospital Care Assistance Program form provided here. If you have any questions prior to mailing or bringing your application in, please contact our department at 732-294-2641.
- Charity Care Income Guidelines 2023
- Charity Care Application
- Financial Assistance Policy 2023
- Financial Assistance Policy 2023 – Spanish
- Financial Assistance Policy – Plain Language Summary
- Financial Assistance Policy – Plain Language Summary – Spanish
- Listing of Contracted and On Call Providers
- Listing of Contracted and On Call Providers – Spanish
CentraState accepts a wide variety of health insurance plans. You should always check with your insurance carrier to verify what services are covered, the extent of coverage provided, and what, if any, deductibles, co-pays, and/or other expenses you may be responsible for under your particular insurance plan. To see a list of accepted insurances, click here to visit our Insurance page.
Price Transparency
CentraState determines its standard charges for patient items and services through the use of a chargemaster system, which is a list of charges for the components of patient care that go into every patient’s bill. These are the baseline rates for items and services provided at CentraState. The charges listed provide only a general starting point in determining the potential costs of an individual patient’s care at CentraState. This list does not reflect the actual out-of-pocket costs that may be paid by a patient for any particular service. Individuals with questions about their out-of-pocket costs of service and other financial information should contact their insurance company or the hospital for further information.