Medical Advice Through MyUTHealth Houston Messages

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How Messaging Works and What It Costs

Sending a message to your provider is a convenient way to ask a nonemergency medical question. You can send a note through the MyUTHealth Houston patient portal 24/7. Response times are one to two business days.

Cost of Medical Advice Through MyUTHealth Houston Messages

Most messages are free. If a response requires medical expertise and more than a few minutes of your health care provider’s time, it may be billed to your insurance.

Your provider will determine whether a message exchange should be billed to insurance. If so, UTHealth Houston will handle the billing on your behalf. (See below for examples of what may or may not be billed.)

Out-of-pocket expenses for this type of care vary by insurance plan and are generally low. Here’s what to expect:

  • Medicare and Medicaid: For most patients, there’s no out-of-pocket cost. For a small number of patients, the cost could be $3 to $6.
  • Private Insurance: Some patients will have copayments similar to those for in-person or video visits. If a deductible applies, the charge may be lower than the cost of an in-person or video visit

Contact your health insurance company to learn more. If the representative asks for a “CPT code” to help identify this type of visit, the relevant codes are 99421, 99422, and 99423.

What Doesn’t Count As Medical Advice Messaging

If your MyUTHealth Houston message doesn’t require a provider’s clinical evaluation or medical advice, or if it can be answered quickly and easily, it won’t cost you anything.

Examples of messages that won’t be billed to insurance:

  • Prescription refill request
  • Request to schedule an appointment
  • Message that leads your provider to recommend a visit
  • Follow-up care related to recent surgery (within the past 90 days) — with exceptions for some surgeries
  • Update for your doctor where no response is required
  • Message that takes only a few minutes to answer

What Counts As Medical Advice Messaging

If your provider needs to make a clinical assessment, review your medical history, or make a medical decision to respond to your message — or it takes more than a few minutes to respond — the provider may bill the message exchange to your insurance.

Examples of messages that may be billed to insurance include:

  • A new issue or symptom requiring medical assessment or referral
  • Adjusting medications
  • Chronic disease check-in
  • Flare-up or change in chronic condition
  • Request to complete a form

Thank you for choosing UTHealth Houston and UT Physicians for your care. If you have a question about MyUTHealth Houston messaging, you can also ask additional questions during your next visit.