Sliding Fee Scale

It is a confusing name.

FEE: By ‘fee’ we mean how much you pay for services.

SCALE: A ‘scale’ is a chart that helps us see how much your fee should be.

SLIDING: ‘sliding’ means the fees are not the same for everyone.

Chase Brexton patients who have household incomes at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Ryan White patients can be on the sliding fee scale if their household income is at or below 500% Federal Poverty Level.

Chase Brexton’s sliding fee scale covers every service at Chase Brexton, including:

• medical,
• OB/GYN,
• behavioral health,
• substance use,
• dental,
• lab services, and
• prescriptions from the Pharmacy.

If you are approved for a sliding fee scale, that scale will last for one year.

The fees will stay the same throughout the year - unless your income decreases (see the next question).

Every year, you will need to re-apply.

A sliding fee scale is designed to help you be able to afford your healthcare.

If your household income decreases for any reason - maybe you lose a job, change jobs, or the number of your dependants increases, please contact your Eligibility Specialist. We want to help you.

If your income decreases during the year, we will help recalculate your sliding fee scale. Your sliding fee scale may go down so you will pay less for your healthcare at Chase Brexton.

The goal is to provide you with a discount on your healthcare services at Chase Brexton Health Care so you can afford your care.

Every patient who has a sliding fee scale will have a different sliding fee scale.  And, the fee scale for each of our services are different. 

Your sliding fee scale will be based on your household's income compared to the US Federal Poverty Level (FPL). 

Once we calculate your sliding fee scale, you will know what you will be paying for each service. Your sliding fee scale will stay the same throughout the year.

Sure!  So, for example, using a pretend sliding fee scale, you might pay:

• At every Medical Visit: $40
• At every Dental Visit: $90
• At every Behavioral Health Visit: $30
• For Prescriptions: $10 - $30

Household members include:

• YOU (the Chase Brexton patient),
• Your legal spouse, if you have one, and
• Any legal dependents – children, foster kids, or adults you legally care for.

For patients under 18, the household members include:

• The patient,
• Their legal guardian or guardians, and
• Any legal dependents of their legal guardian(s).

Household income is the total amount earned by those living in your household. Household income counts every person of any age who lives in your household AND that you claim as a dependant on your tax returns.

For an example, let us use a pretend patient named Max. Max's household includes:

Max’s total household income is $59,000 a year for a household of 5 people.

Max's household income is between 176% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

BUT: WHAT IF MAX'S MOM WASN'T A DEPENDANT?

If Max did not claim his Mom as a dependant on their taxes, the household income would NOT include her or her social security benefits.  

Max's total household income would be $50,000 and the total number of people in the household would be 4. Max's household income would still be less than 200% of the FPL. 

Proof of income is a group of forms you may have that verify how much you've made during a specific time period. We will need the MOST RECENT documents - those from the last year.

There are many types of forms you can bring for proof of income. We will help you figure out what to bring, but here are some forms of proof of income:

• Pay statements - The most recent 2 months worth of pay statements (sometimes called 'pay stubs')
• Proof of Income Letter - If you cannot get your pay statements, ask your employer for a a verification of income letter.
• Last Year’s Tax Return - This is usually a 1040 form; you want to bring the MOST RECENT form you filed.
• Wage and Tax Statement - a W-2 form
• Social Security Proof of Benefits Letter - If you receive Social Security, you can get a benefits letter online by logging into mysocialsecurity.gov or visit this page for more information.
• Unemployment benefits
• Workers Compensation letter

We will need proofs of income from EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD WHO IS 18 OR OLDER AND IS YOUR DEPENDENT. 

Household members who are your dependants AND are 18 or older BUT who don't earn an income will need to fill out a Verification of No Income form. The Verification of No Income form is available in English and Español.

Let's say Vera's household has 4 people - Vera, Vera's dependent spouse, Vera's dependent 19-year-old child, and Vera's dependant 12-year-old child.

Vera earns an income so will bring in proof of income.

Vera's dependent spouse does not earn an income. Vera's dependent 19-year-old also does not earn an income. Both the spouse and the 19-year-old need to fill out Verification of No Income Forms so Vera can apply for the sliding fee scale. 

Vera's dependent 12-year-old does not earn an income BUT is not 18-years-old or over so does not need any proof of income.

Yes! You may pay find you will pay less than your insurance co-pay and dedcutibles for certain services using the sliding fee scale.

Certain medications may cost a lot less with the sliding fee scale in the Chase Brexton pharmacy

Nope! You will pay whichever amount is less.

Sliding fee scales only work with the healthcare provider where they are created. For example, if you have a sliding fee scale at Johns Hopkins, it wouldn't work at Chase Brexton or any other provider's office. 

No. Chase Brexton’s sliding fee scale is not insurance.

It is a way to help you afford services at Chase Brexton Health Care by giving you services at a discount. The sliding fee scale only works for Chase Brexton services. It cannot be used at other pharmacies or doctor’s offices.

No, you still need insurance.

Insurance helps to pay for things that the sliding fee scale does not cover. If you have to go to the hospital or the emergency room, your insurance will help cover that cost. If you need to see a specialist or if you need to get an MRI or mammogram, you will use your insurance to help pay for the service.

You need insurance to protect you from big medical bills. Insurance also makes sure that, if anything bad happens, you can get the care you need!

Call your Chase Brexton Health Care Center’s Eligibility Specialist to get started: 410-837-2050 x8872.

They will tell you what documents to bring with you. But you will need to bring “Proof of Income” for yourself and your household.