1.Payment Requirements

Payment for a standalone consultation is due in full before the scheduled service, unless another payment arrangement has been expressly approved by Firm Hill Cardiometabolic Center ("Firm Hill").

Payment does not guarantee a particular clinical outcome, prescription, or treatment.

2.Patient-Initiated Cancellation

A patient may request cancellation of a scheduled consultation by contacting Firm Hill through its designated communication channels.

As the Practice's proposed standard policy, fees paid for standalone consultations are nonrefundable when a patient voluntarily cancels after payment, except where a refund is required by applicable law or expressly approved by Firm Hill.

This provision shall be disclosed clearly before payment and shall not waive any nonwaivable patient rights.

3.Patient-Initiated Rescheduling

Patients may request rescheduling before their scheduled consultation.

Rescheduling is subject to provider availability and Practice approval. Firm Hill may permit a previously paid consultation fee to be applied toward a rescheduled appointment.

No additional rescheduling fee shall be imposed unless separately disclosed, authorized, and legally permissible.

A request to reschedule does not automatically create a right to a refund.

4.Practice-Initiated Cancellation or Failure to Provide Services

If Firm Hill cancels a consultation or is unable to provide the agreed service for reasons attributable to the Practice, the patient shall be offered:

• Rescheduling at no additional charge, subject to mutual agreement.

The patient will be offered rescheduling at no additional charge when the Practice is responsible for non-delivery of the service.

5.Billing Errors and Duplicate Payments

Firm Hill shall correct verified duplicate payments, incorrect charges, and other billing errors.

Any amount improperly collected shall be refunded in accordance with applicable law and payment processing requirements.

6.Clinical Eligibility and Inability to Proceed

If a consultation cannot proceed because the patient is ineligible for the requested service, outside the Practice's authorized jurisdiction, or otherwise unable to receive the service, Firm Hill shall review the circumstances and determine the appropriate refund treatment under applicable law.

A payment shall not automatically be forfeited solely because Firm Hill determines, before providing the consultation, that the requested clinical service cannot be delivered.

7.Refund Processing

Where a refund is approved or legally required, Firm Hill shall initiate it within fifteen (15) calendar days after confirming the refund obligation, or sooner if required by applicable law.

Refunds shall ordinarily be issued through the original payment method when available.

8.Patient Acknowledgment

Before payment, the patient shall be presented with this Policy and shall affirmatively acknowledge that:

• Standalone consultations require advance payment.
• Patient-initiated cancellation is ordinarily nonrefundable, subject to applicable law.
• Rescheduling requires Practice approval.
• Practice-initiated cancellation or non-delivery entitles the patient to rescheduling at no additional charge.
• Clinical services remain subject to physician judgment and applicable law.

The self-pay registration process requires first name, last name, email, the selected service, acceptance of the applicable approved consultation terms and acknowledgment that the patient must be physically in Texas during telemedicine visits. Registration and acknowledgment records are saved before the patient can continue to the approved QuickBooks payment link. If registration cannot be saved, the patient must not proceed through that website payment pathway.

Using the anonymous insurance checker does not require registration or acceptance of self-pay payment terms and does not authorize a charge.

9.Governing Law

This Policy shall be interpreted in accordance with applicable federal law and Texas law.

Nothing in this Policy shall waive nonwaivable patient rights, authorize unlawful retention of payments, or restrict remedies available under applicable law.

10.Scope and Relationship to Existing Policies

This Part supplements Part I and Firm Hill's applicable scheduling, privacy and telemedicine policies. It is part of this combined document, not a separate addendum.

It applies to individual consultations purchased separately from a membership program, including general medical consultations, internal medicine services, weight management consultations, and additional clinical services.

In the event of an inconsistency, applicable federal or state law shall control. Nothing in this Part shall waive any patient right or protection established by law. Prepaid membership allocation and refund rules shall not be applied to a standalone consultation.

11.Service-Specific Financial Authorization

Each standalone consultation shall be associated with a specifically identified clinical service, an approved fee, and a designated payment method.

Before payment, patients shall have the opportunity to review the applicable service description, total charge, and material financial terms.

Authorization to purchase one consultation does not constitute authorization for additional services, recurring charges, or enrollment in a membership program.

Additional services requiring separate payment shall be disclosed and authorized before charges are incurred, except as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

Self-pay checkout uses the Practice's designated QuickBooks-hosted one-time payment link. The website does not collect card or bank-account details. A supplied link or entered amount alone is not sufficient: the applicable hosted service description, exact total and one-time billing terms must be validated through the authorized launch-readiness process. Amount verification remains separate from financial-policy approval.

The urgent or same-day surcharge is a separate $50 add-on, not payment for a consultation by itself. A practice-designated qualifying initial consultation must be paid for first and confirmed by authorized staff, with no recorded refund, reversal, void or chargeback. The full FH reference and matching consultation are checked against that payment; a single-use email code sent only to its recorded email must then be successfully verified before short-lived website authorization is granted. Practice-approved reuse limits apply. The original consultation fee is not charged again. The add-on remains subject to approved financial terms, hosted-link validation and availability; it is not an emergency service. Firm Hill's website gate cannot prevent someone who already possesses a static public QuickBooks link from opening that link directly. Opening or returning from checkout never confirms payment.

12.Electronic Registration and Transaction Records

Firm Hill may maintain electronic records documenting patient registration, selected services, acknowledgment of applicable terms, payment status, administrative approval, and access verification.

Self-pay registration uses first name, last name and email and retains the selected service, applicable charge and enrollment reference. Registration remains pending payment verification until authorized staff reconcile the transaction. Staff administrative records may include the verified QuickBooks receipt reference, payment status and approval audit history; they do not contain card or bank-account credentials.

Electronic records may include transaction references, timestamps, policy versions, and authorized administrative actions.

Such records shall be maintained in accordance with applicable recordkeeping, confidentiality, and data-security requirements.

An electronic registration submission does not, by itself, establish that payment has been received or that an appointment has been confirmed.

13.Payment Confirmation and Administrative Authorization

For self-pay services, Firm Hill shall verify the applicable transaction through its authorized payment processing and administrative procedures before releasing enrollment access credentials.

Authorized finance staff manually reconcile the payment in QuickBooks, including the applicable amount, payer and unique transaction receipt. The website does not automatically synchronize QuickBooks purchases with Tebra. Only after authorized payment verification does the approval-triggered process send the registered patient a payment-verification confirmation and a separate enrollment access-code email, subject to configured email and launch safeguards.

An enrollment confirmation, payment link, or checkout redirect shall not independently constitute evidence of a completed financial transaction.

Only appropriately authorized personnel may confirm payment status. Firm Hill shall maintain reasonable administrative controls to prevent unauthorized approvals, duplicate processing, and inaccurate payment records.

Insurance onboarding follows a separate authorized administrative approval process, not self-pay payment reconciliation. An insurance directory match or priority-list approval is not insurance onboarding approval, payment verification or permission to release a Tebra destination. Insurance approval does not generate a self-pay payment-confirmation email or guarantee coverage or claim payment.

If an email fails, the recorded approval is retained. Authorized staff may retry delivery without duplicating the payment or insurance approval. Delivery status and code redemption are tracked separately; an email accepted for sending does not prove that the patient received or read it.

14.Electronic Identity Verification and Patient Portal Access

Firm Hill's new-patient website pathway requires verification of the registered email, enrollment reference and time-limited, single-use access code before revealing the Practice's verified Tebra destination. Codes are issued only after authorized self-pay payment verification or separate insurance onboarding approval; using the insurance checker alone does not issue a code.

The enrollment-code email includes the code, its expiration and the verification-page link at /enrollment/verify. New-patient codes expire after twenty-four (24) hours and can be redeemed once. Replacement invalidates the previous active code; verification attempts are limited. Successful verification creates a fifteen (15) minute website access session. Code storage uses a hash rather than retaining a readable code in patient or staff views.

Patients are responsible for maintaining reasonable control over their email accounts and verification credentials and should promptly report suspected unauthorized access.

Successful Firm Hill verification provides access to the designated patient onboarding or portal destination. It does not replace separate authentication, identity verification, or clinical intake requirements imposed by the electronic health record provider.

Once a code is successfully verified, no second Firm Hill approval is required to reveal the configured destination, provided the Practice has verified that destination and completed the required launch setup. Code verification or clicking the link does not confirm completed Tebra onboarding, appointment scheduling, clinical eligibility or membership activation. The code protects Firm Hill's website pathway, not Tebra's own login.

Returning members use a separate email sign-in pathway when enabled after launch verification. It requires staff-confirmed completed onboarding, uses a single-use six-character code expiring after ten (10) minutes, and does not require a new payment or repeat new-patient approval. This pathway does not use paid membership-term expiration to determine access; lawful access to medical records remains separate from eligibility for paid services.

The availability of a portal link does not independently confirm that clinical services have commenced or that a provider-patient relationship has been established.

15.Telemedicine Eligibility and Clinical Appropriateness

Firm Hill's telemedicine services are intended for eligible adult patients physically located within Texas at the time of the consultation, subject to applicable licensing and practice requirements.

Patients may be required to confirm their identity, physical location, and contact information before receiving telemedicine services.

Firm Hill's clinicians retain independent professional judgment to determine whether telemedicine is clinically appropriate for a particular condition or requested service.

When an in-person evaluation, emergency assessment, specialist referral, or alternative level of care is clinically necessary, the patient may be advised accordingly.

Payment for a consultation does not guarantee a particular diagnosis, prescription, treatment, referral, or clinical outcome.

16.Telemedicine Informed Consent

Before telemedicine services are provided, Firm Hill shall obtain and document legally sufficient informed consent.

Such consent shall address the nature of telemedicine services, relevant limitations, privacy considerations, and other disclosures required by applicable law.

Patients may ask questions about the proposed care and may decline telemedicine services, subject to applicable clinical, financial, and legal requirements.

17.Privacy, Confidentiality, and Third-Party Platforms

Firm Hill shall handle patient information in accordance with applicable privacy and security laws, including HIPAA where applicable.

Approved third-party platforms may be used for payment processing, administrative communication, electronic health records, and patient portal access.

Each platform shall be used only for authorized purposes and subject to applicable privacy, security, and contractual requirements.

Patients shall be directed to approved secure channels for transmitting medical information. Ordinary email verification messages should not contain unnecessary sensitive clinical information.

Nothing in this Part limits a patient's lawful rights to request or access medical records. Medical history, diagnoses, insurance identification documents and clinical consent belong in the Practice's approved secure Tebra workflow, not the public checker or website enrollment form. General website messages are a separate process and should not contain health or insurance details.

18.Technology Availability and Service Interruptions

Electronic registration, payment processing, email delivery, and patient portal access may occasionally be affected by technical interruptions, connectivity failures, or third-party service outages.

Firm Hill shall make reasonable efforts to address reported technical problems and provide appropriate administrative assistance.

Where an interruption prevents delivery of a purchased consultation, the practice shall address rescheduling or refund eligibility under its approved policies and applicable law.

No provision of this Part excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

19.Insurance Representations and Patient Financial Responsibility

Where insurance billing is available, verification of eligibility or benefits shall not constitute a guarantee of coverage, reimbursement, or payment.

Any patient financial responsibility shall be determined and disclosed in accordance with applicable insurance contracts, billing requirements, and federal and state law.

Firm Hill shall not impose self-pay charges or additional patient financial obligations inconsistent with applicable legal requirements or binding payer agreements.

20.Clinical Independence and Limitations of Service

The purchase of a standalone consultation does not entitle a patient to a specific medication, diagnostic test, imaging study, procedure, or treatment plan.

Clinical recommendations shall be determined by the treating clinician's professional judgment and the applicable standard of care.

Services identified as urgent consultations do not constitute emergency department services or guarantee immediate clinical availability.

Patients experiencing a medical emergency should call 911 or seek emergency medical attention.

21.Electronic Acknowledgment and Policy Version Control

Where permitted by law, patients may acknowledge applicable terms electronically.

Firm Hill shall maintain records sufficient to identify the policy version presented, the date and time of acknowledgment, and the associated registration or transaction.

Material changes to financial terms shall not be applied retroactively to completed purchases without an appropriate legal basis or required patient agreement.

22.Preservation of Patient Rights

Nothing in this Part shall be interpreted to restrict lawful access to medical records, waive statutory protections, eliminate applicable refund rights, or limit a patient's ability to pursue remedies available under federal or Texas law.

If any provision is determined to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain effective to the extent permitted by law.

23.Purpose and Scope

Firm Hill Cardiometabolic Center ("Firm Hill," "we," "our," or "the Practice") is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who visit our website and inquire about insurance acceptance.

This Part describes how our online Insurance Acceptance Checker operates, the information it uses, its limitations, and how visitors may proceed to secure patient onboarding.

This Part supplements our Website Privacy Policy and, where applicable, our Notice of Privacy Practices. It does not replace either document.

24.Nature of the Insurance Acceptance Checker

The Insurance Acceptance Checker is an informational tool designed to help visitors determine whether a selected insurance company is currently listed among those accepted by Firm Hill for a particular service.

The checker performs a preliminary comparison against the Practice's published insurance directory. A listed-as-accepted result requires a matching company and service in an active, practice-confirmed directory entry within its applicable effective dates. Authorized staff maintain directory entries through the Staff Portal; directory confirmation is separate from individual patient approval.

It does not independently verify an individual's insurance policy, active enrollment, eligibility, covered benefits, financial responsibility, prior authorization, or entitlement to payment.

A matching result does not guarantee that insurance will cover any consultation, treatment, or other service.

25.Information Requested by the Checker

The Insurance Acceptance Checker is designed to request only:

• Insurance company.
• Requested consultation or service.

The checker does not require visitors to provide their name, email address, telephone number, date of birth, insurance member identification number, Social Security number, medical history, diagnosis, or insurance card.

Visitors should not submit personal, medical, or insurance identification information through the checker.

26.Collection and Storage of Checker Selections

The checker loads the published directory and compares insurance selections within the visitor's browser. Individual selections are not sent to the website's server, placed in the web address, or saved in browser storage.

The checker does not create individual patient inquiry or enrollment records or maintain a saved history of visitors' insurance selections. Changing a selection does not submit an insurance-review request to staff.

Individual checker selections are not saved in the website's patient database, Staff Portal or marketing database.

Individual selections are not transmitted to advertising platforms or third-party analytics services.

This provision does not mean that ordinary website operation involves no technical data processing. Web hosting, security systems, and network services may process technical information as described in Firm Hill's general Website Privacy Policy.

27.Website Security and Technical Information

Firm Hill shall maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the website's functions and applicable law.

Technical information associated with website operation may include IP addresses, browser characteristics, access timestamps, and security-related events.

Such information shall be processed only for authorized purposes, subject to applicable privacy requirements and the Practice's approved data-retention procedures.

Firm Hill shall assess website analytics, tracking technologies, scripts, and third-party integrations to prevent unauthorized disclosure of health-related or insurance-related visitor information.

The Practice shall not represent that its website collects or stores no personal information unless that representation has been verified against its actual technical configuration.

28.Accuracy of Accepted Insurance Information

Firm Hill will make reasonable efforts to maintain an accurate directory of insurance companies it accepts.

Insurance participation may vary by:

• Insurance company.
• Provider network.
• Requested service.
• Applicable coverage rules.
• Contractual participation arrangements.
• Changes made by insurers or the Practice.

Insurance acceptance information may change without prior notice.

Insurance participation may differ by provider network and service even when the company is listed.

If a company is not listed, this does not necessarily mean the patient is uninsured or ineligible for coverage. Visitors may contact Firm Hill or their insurer for clarification.

29.Actual Insurance Eligibility Verification

The Insurance Acceptance Checker does not perform patient-specific insurance eligibility verification.

Visitors whose insurance matches the directory are directed to the website's patient-registration information page, not directly to a Tebra destination. The page explains the separate approval and code-verification pathway; visiting it does not create a patient record or approve onboarding. If no matching entry can be confirmed, visitors may contact Firm Hill for clarification or explore self-pay consultations; the result is not a denial of insurance eligibility or clinical care.

The public checker replaces the former public insurance intake form. It does not collect a patient's name or email, create a staff-review request, or automatically issue an enrollment code. Any separately authorized insurance onboarding review is distinct from directory screening and remains subject to Practice approval and secure-access safeguards. A new patient must have that review approved by authorized staff and successfully verify the emailed code before Firm Hill's website reveals its Tebra destination; no self-pay payment is required solely for that insurance approval pathway.

During secure onboarding, additional information may be requested to support insurance eligibility verification, clinical care, payment, and healthcare operations.

Actual eligibility and benefits verification is handled separately through the Practice's authorized secure healthcare processes. The website checker does not demonstrate that an automated insurer or Tebra eligibility integration is configured or tested.

The collection, use, disclosure, and retention of information submitted during clinical onboarding are governed by the applicable patient privacy notices and policies of Firm Hill and its authorized service providers.

30.No Guarantee of Coverage or Payment

A positive result from the Insurance Acceptance Checker is not:

• A guarantee of active insurance coverage.
• A determination of medical necessity.
• Confirmation of covered benefits.
• Prior authorization.
• A guarantee that a claim will be approved or paid.
• Confirmation of the patient's copayment, deductible, coinsurance, or other financial responsibility.
• Confirmation of appointment availability.

Patients remain responsible for understanding applicable plan terms and financial obligations, subject to governing law and agreements.

Firm Hill will communicate applicable billing and payment information through its approved patient onboarding and billing processes.

31.Third-Party Patient Onboarding

Tebra is the Practice's designated patient registration, scheduling and clinical onboarding platform. Firm Hill-controlled website onboarding links are released only through the approved code-verification pathway and verified destination setup; an insurance directory result is not an exception to this requirement.

Visitors leaving Firm Hill's public website may become subject to additional privacy notices, authentication requirements, and security procedures associated with the relevant platform.

Firm Hill will use approved integrations and service providers as required by applicable privacy and security laws.

No patient should assume that completing the public Insurance Acceptance Checker establishes a clinical relationship, creates a patient account, or completes clinical onboarding.

32.Staff Portal and Administrative Records

Firm Hill may maintain administrative records identifying the insurance companies, services, and provider arrangements included in its accepted-insurance directory.

Such records may include effective dates, directory changes, authorized administrative actions, and related compliance documentation.

The Insurance Acceptance Checker does not create identifiable patient inquiry records in the Firm Hill Staff Portal. Directory editing and its audit history concern insurance listings, not a visitor's selections or an individual coverage determination. Separate enrollment, general contact and priority-list submissions may create their own limited administrative records; they are not checker submissions and do not authorize onboarding by themselves.

Patient-identifiable records obtained through other authorized processes shall be handled under the Practice's applicable privacy, security, and retention policies.

33.Data Minimization and Retention

Firm Hill shall seek to minimize the collection and retention of information through its public Insurance Acceptance Checker.

Information shall not be retained merely because it is technically possible to do so.

Any technical logs or operational records shall be retained only for authorized purposes and for periods established under the Practice's approved retention schedule and applicable legal requirements.

Records subject to legal preservation requirements shall not be destroyed contrary to those requirements.

34.Privacy Rights and Requests

Individuals may contact Firm Hill regarding questions about this Part, the operation of the Insurance Acceptance Checker, or the handling of their information.

Where applicable, Firm Hill will respond to privacy requests in accordance with federal and Texas law.

Rights relating to protected health information maintained by the Practice are addressed in Firm Hill's Notice of Privacy Practices.

35.Changes to This Part

Firm Hill may update this Part to reflect changes in website functionality, insurance screening practices, technology providers, legal requirements, or operational procedures.

Material changes shall be reflected in an updated version posted on the website.

36.Contact Information

Firm Hill Cardiometabolic Center

Website: www.firmhillcenter.com

Privacy Contact: admin@firmhillcenter.com

Mailing Address: 5900 Balcones Dr. Ste 100, Austin TX 78731

37.Important Notice

The Insurance Acceptance Checker provides preliminary information only. It does not verify individual insurance eligibility or guarantee coverage. Actual insurance verification and patient onboarding occur separately through Firm Hill's approved secure healthcare processes.