Search Menu Globe Arrow Right Close

Frequently Asked Questions

Billing and Payments

Call Patient Financial Services at 866-803-1777, Monday through Friday, 8 am - 4:30 pm PT.

When you or your family member is treated at Cedars-Sinai, we bill your insurance provider. Because of this, we suggest you talk to your insurance company about what’s covered before you have treatment. You'll need to pay for any amount not paid by your insurance.

If you're uninsured or underinsured, Cedars-Sinai does offer flat-rate cash packages for certain procedures. Cedars-Sinai also offers help paying your bill.

For elective surgical and gastrointestinal (GI) procedures, you can call the Cash and Insurance Pricing Line, 310-423-4890, and ask for cash and insurance pricing before your care.

Cedars-Sinai bills your insurance company for all care provided by the hospital. The amount the company pays is determined by your plan’'s benefits.

If your insurance doesn't pay in a reasonable amount of time (generally 45 days) or doesn't cover the full cost of your bill, we may call or write your insurance provider again. We may also call you for help in processing your insurance claim.

Please note: Physician charges aren't part of your Cedars-Sinai bill. You'll be billed separately by any hospital-based doctors (radiologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists, etc.) who treat you.

If your coverage is through Medi-Cal, an HMO (health maintenance organization plan—a type of insurance plan that limits coverage to doctors who are part of a specific network) or Medicare HMO, you may not get a bill. You will receive a bill if your claim is denied or your HMO states that you must pay part of the charge. That bill will list the services provided and what was or wasn’t paid by your insurance.

If your coverage is with any other health plan, you’ll receive a copy of the bill if you're responsible for it.

If you don't have insurance, we’ll work with you to select the best way to pay before you leave the hospital. Additionally, Cedars-Sinai offers help paying your bill for qualified applicants.

Cedars-Sinai provides a wide range of medically-related services for independent clinics, local doctors and other hospitals. For example, a pediatrician or health center may refer lab work to Cedars-Sinai for testing or analysis. When this happens, the bill for the lab services will come from Cedars-Sinai.

Once we receive a payment or denial from your insurance company, we’ll send you a statement telling you the amount you owe. This amount should be the same amount noted on the Explanation of Benefits you received from your insurance company. That total is due upon receipt. If you have questions, call your insurance company or Patient Financial Services at 866-803-1777. If your insurance company fails to make any payment on your account, we may seek full payment from you.

Cedars-Sinai takes cash, most major credit cards and personal checks. Help paying your bill is available to qualified applicants. You can also pay your bill online by signing in or creating an account in My CS-Link or through the My CS-Link app. For help paying your bill, call Patient Financial Services at 866-803-1777.

We include a summary of charges by category on all bills and statements. If you want a bill detailing the charges in each category, call Patient Financial Services at 866-803-1777. View a sample patient bill with an explanation of its contents and get tips for figuring out your charges.

Cedars-Sinai accepts cash, personal checks and most major credit cards. The Patient Financial Services team can work with you to make a payment plan. For some services and procedures, we’re able to offer flat-fee cash packages or discounts.

We’re committed to providing quality healthcare to everyone in the community who needs it, regardless of the ability to pay. Help paying your bill is available to qualified applicants.

We're committed to providing quality healthcare to everyone in the community who needs it, regardless of your ability to pay. Any person without health insurance is eligible for discounts and payment plans. Help paying your bill is available to qualified applicants. Call Patient Financial Services at 866-803-1777 for help with your medical bills.

In California, doctors may not be directly employed by a hospital, even if they work in a hospital. Therefore, you’ll receive a separate bill from any doctors who treated you during your stay at Cedars-Sinai. This may include radiologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists and others.

Please note: Doctors who treat you may or may not be contracted with your health plan. Check with your insurance company to make sure those doctors are covered, and reach out to the doctors directly for billing questions. Hospital-based doctors associated with Cedars-Sinai include those employed by the following:

Pacific Coast Medical Management
Phone: 213-637-3700

Cedars-Sinai Physicians Billing Services
Phone: 310-967-1631

Cedars-Sinai Laboratory Services
Phone: 310-423-5431

Before an account is referred to a debt collector, you’ll receive three billing statements from Cedars-Sinai. You also may get a phone call from our Patient Financial Services staff. If you haven’t paid or made payment plans after these steps have been taken, the account will be referred to a debt collector. These agencies act under the direction of Cedars-Sinai.

Once an account is placed with an outside debt collector, we ask that you work directly with the collector to take care of what is owed.

By law, we must let you know that:

State and federal law requires debt collectors to treat you fairly and prohibits debt collectors from making false statements or threats of violence, using obscene or profane language, and making improper communications with third parties, including your employer. Except under unusual circumstances, debt collectors may not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. In general, a debt collector may not give information about your debt to another person, other than your attorney or spouse. A debt collector may contact another person to confirm your location or to enforce a judgment. For more information about debt collection activities, you may call the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357) or visit ftc.gov. Nonprofit credit counseling services may be available near you.

My CS-Link

If you're a Cedars-Sinai patient and your doctor uses My CS-Link, you're eligible for a My CS-Link account.

To sign up for My CS-Link, follow these steps:

  • Ask for an activation letter the next time you visit your physician’s office. It will include a one-time-use access code for your account.

You can also get your own access code:

  • Visit mycslink.org.
  • Click on "I need access for myself" or “I don’t have an access code", if you are using the mobile app.
  • Complete the My CS-Link sign-up form; this will give you an access code.
  • Once you have the code from the online access form, go back to the "Create an Account" page and click on "I have an access code", or "I have an activation code" if you're using the mobile app.
  • Follow the instructions above to complete registration

The information you provide is private and is processed through a secure website.

Desktop: 

  • Visit mycslink.org.
  • Click on "New User Signup."
  • Select "I have an access code."
  • Fill in the information.

Mobile:

  • If you don’t already have the app, go to the App Store or Google Play and search for Cedars-Sinai, then download the app.
  • Click on the “Log in to My CS-Link” button on the home screen, and then click “Create an Account” at the bottom.
  • Click on “I have an activation code” if you’ve already received one from you physician and fill in the requested information.

To help patients and their care partners manage their healthcare needs, proxy access allows a patient's designated representative ("proxy") to have access to the patient's medical information through My CS-Link. If you’re a parent or care partner of a Cedars-Sinai patient and you would like to gain access to the patient’s medical information via My CS-Link, please complete one of the forms below and take it to the patient’s next physician office visit.

Proxy Access for Children Under Age 12 (PDF)
Proxy Access for Adults (PDF)
Proxy Access for Adults of Diminished Capacity (PDF)

Access to these proxy request sheets are also available on the mobile app, under "Create an Account" and "I Need Access to Another Person’s Information".

You can pay the outstanding balance(s) on your Cedars-Sinai statement. This statement includes billing for services provided by the medical center and by physicians who are part of the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Department, Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, or who are faculty physicians at Cedars-Sinai.

Physicians who are not part of these groups may bill you separately.

A guarantor is the person financially responsible for the visit.

You'll see three guarantor types: personal/family, vision and transplant recipient. The most common is personal/family. If you have multiple account types, each will be listed separately.

"Apply payment to" allows you to apply payment to the total outstanding balance or to a specific individual visit.

*Note: Not paying the total balance by the due date might send your account to collections.

As of June 28, 2016, Cedars-Sinai implemented a new workflow to enable the viewing of statements in My CS-Link. If you need a copy of a statement prior to June 28, 2016, call Patient Financial Services at 866-803-1777.

If you have questions about My CS-Link, please call Patient Services at 800-700-6424. For technical support, call 855-427-5465.

Help Paying Your Bill

We provide financial assistance to eligible patients. We also offer our patients a variety of options to meet their financial needs, even if they do not qualify for assistance.

Need Help?

If you have questions about coverage or referrals, we're here to help.

Patient Financial Services
General Questions

(1-800-233-2771)

Available 7 days a week, 6 am - 9 pm PT