Patients and Visitors

If you or someone you love is being cared for at Lackey Memorial Hospital, this section of our website will contain useful information that may answer questions you have regarding your stay.

If you have questions about anything not covered on our website please feel free to call the hospital at 601-469-4151 and the operator will direct you to the appropriate department.

Lackey Financial Assistance Policy

Patient Liability Estimator

Estimate your visit/procedure costs. Follow the link here: Patient Liability Estimator

Billing Information

At Lackey Memorial Hospital (LMH), we’re committed to the health of our patients. To help you navigate the sometimes confusing world of healthcare reimbursement, we will bill your insurance company and send you statements that help you keep up-to-date on your account and your LMH charges.

When you check-in for your appointment at LMH, remember to present your valid insurance ID or information about your coverage. If your insurance requires a co-payment or a deductible, you will be responsible for these charges at the time of your appointment. If your insurance does not cover certain charges or if there is an unpaid balance of any type, you will be responsible for paying for those services within 30 days of receipt of a statement from us. Payment can be made by:

***As well as the payment methods below we now offer Online Bill Pay

  • Cash, check, or money order (made payable to Lackey Memorial Hospital)
  • Mastercard
  • Visa
  • Discover
  • American Express

Patients who do not have insurance will be financially responsible for all charges associated with their care.

Insurance Provider Coverage

If you have any questions about your bill please contact our Business Department at 601-469-4151

Mail Payments to:

Lackey Memorial Hospital
330 North Broad Street
Forest, Mississippi 39074

Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills

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

What is “balance billing” (sometimes called “surprise billing”)?

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 healthcare facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network.

“Out-of-network” refers to providers and facilities that have not 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.

You are protected from balance billing for:

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.

Mississippi Prohibits Balance Billing (Miss. Code Ann. § 83-9-5(1)(i)

Under this law, if a healthcare provider accepts a patient’s insurance assignment, then the insurance company will pay the provider directly for the patient’s treatment.

That payment is considered payment in full to the healthcare provider – this means the provider cannot bill the patient later for any amount more than the payment received from the insurance company, other than normal deductibles or co-pays.

When balance billing isn’t allowed, you also have the following protections:

• 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.

If you believe you’ve been wrongly billed, you may contact the MS Attorney General’s Office – Consumer Protection Division at 601-359-4230.

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

Visit https://www.midhelps.org/ for more information about your rights under Mississippi laws

In Keeping with our commitment to provide superior healthcare to our community, Lackey Memorial Hospital accepts coverage from numerous insurance plans. Some of these plans are as follows:

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi
  • Advanced Health Systems
  • CIGNA Healthcare
  • United Healthcare Mississippi Commercial Products
  • GEHA(Government Employees Hospital Association)
  • Mississippi Public Entity Employees Benefit Trust
  • MultiPlan
  • North Mississippi Health Link PPO
  • United Healthcare Mississippi CANS(Coordinated Access Network)
  • United Healthcare Mississippi CHIPS(Childrens Health Insurance Program)

If you have any questions about your insurance coverage, please contact your insurance provider or the hospital at:
601-469-4151.