FAQs

We see all patients regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. We never send anyone to collections for not paying their bill. We are legally required to send statements to every client; however, if you receive a bill from Lyon-Martin and cannot afford to pay it, please disregard it!

See the Insurance & Coverage page for more information.

For medications we have prescribed you before, contact your pharmacy and have them send us a refill request. We have a 72 hr prescription refill turn around time, so please request your refills well in advance before running out. If you are out of your medication and need an urgent refill, please contact us as ask to speak with your RN.

For medications we have never prescribed you before, you will need to speak with a provider in an appointment to obtain a prescription.

Please have the pharmacist send us a prior authorization request so we know to do the necessary paperwork to obtain insurance coverage of your medication. Alternatively, you can call your Team RN to let them know so they can troubleshoot with the pharmacy on your behalf.

Due to variable lab processing times, we ask 7 days of turn around time for lab results. We currently use a “No News is Good News” policy. This means normal lab results are not typically reviewed with you unless you call to request the results.  Abnormal results will be reviewed either by phone or in an appointment. We will attempt to reach you by phone or mail if your results require additional follow-up. You can access most lab results via your Lyon-Martin MyChart.

If you have MyChart, you can send us a message and upload documents. You can also send any completed forms via email to our general inbox: info@lyon-martin.org or you can drop them off or mail them to us at 1735 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. You may also fax paperwork to us at (415) 252-7512.

If you know that you are not going to be able to  make your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so we can accommodate others in the schedule. We do not charge fees for no-shows or cancellations, but we would like to be able to accommodate others who need care urgently, and we cannot provide same-day or next-day access if people do not let us know in advance that they can’t make it. Community Care!

We ask that all patients arrive 5-10 minutes early to their appointments to allow time for check in and registration. We may ask that you come earlier for certain appointments that require paperwork completion prior to the appointment.

If you are not checked in by your appointment time, we cannot guarantee that you will be seen for your appointment. We will do our best to accommodate you, but you may need to wait for a later no-show or cancellation, or you could be re-scheduled for another day.

In compliance with HIPAA Privacy Laws, we cannot disclose your protected health information to anyone outside the organization without your explicit permission. Exceptions to this include referrals to outside specialty care providers and emergency situations. Internally, we will only discuss the minimum necessary information to provide you with the care you need. We will not leave messages on your voicemail unless you explicitly consent to us doing so. You have the right to choose how we communicate with you. For example, if you do not wish to receive mail from us, but you’re ok with phone calls, we will only communicate with you by phone. 

We are legally required to inform you of how much the services you received cost. We are legally required to at least attempt to collect this money from you once. That being said, we provide all services regardless of ability to pay and we do not send anyone to collections for failing to pay. So, if you are unable to pay the bill, you can either contact us to create a payment plan, or you can ignore it completely and it will be written off.

If you receive a bill from Quest Diagnostics, our lab processing company, and you are unable to pay it, please call them directly to apply for their discount program. Quest has a discount application system that is separate from, but aligned with, the Lyon-Martin sliding scale discount program. Even if you have completed a sliding scale application with our clinic, you will need to complete Quest’s sliding scale application separately. Unfortunately, Quest does send people to collections, so we recommend you reach out to them as soon as possible to apply for their discount program or set up a payment plan.

If you have completed the discount application process with Quest and are still unable to afford any remainder of the bill, please reach out to the clinic and provide us with a copy of the bill you received for us to negotiate on your behalf with Quest.

You may apply for a hardship waiver at anytime to obtain our assistance in addressing any outstanding bill from our clinic.

By law, all licensed health professionals are mandated reporters. This means that we are required to report suspected abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. 

Because insurance companies and surgeons follow the WPATH Standards of Care, we can help you obtain the letters necessary to get approval from your insurance company and surgeon to move forward with gender affirming surgery.

First, schedule an appointment with your primary care provider to discuss the referral. If your primary care provider clears you medically, they will submit a referral order for that particular surgery. Our care coordinator will then reach out to you to schedule you with a mental health provider to do your mental health letter if needed. Once we receive your mental health letter, your medical clearance letter is written and we will send both letters to the surgeon of your choice in network with your insurance company. You can then schedule your consult with the surgeon. Once you are seen in your consult, the surgeon will schedule your surgery date. We then will reach out to you 1 month prior to your surgery date to assist with any pre-op preparation needed to ensure you have the support you need for surgery.

Call us at (415) 565-7667 to schedule a new patient appointment.

We will first schedule an eligibility appointment to either complete a sliding scale application or troubleshoot any insurance coverage issues for appointments at Lyon-Martin.

Bring your ID & insurance or coverage information or, if you’re uninsured, bring your documentation of income. If you don’t have any we will ask you to self-attest to your income.

We will then schedule your Primary Care Appointment to establish care with us. Please try to arrive 15-20 minutes early to this appointment to complete your health history paperwork. 

You can contact our Gender Affirming Care Coordinator and schedule a time to complete the paperwork with them (415) 901-7131.

Please contact our Care Coordination Team to check on the status of your referral and how to go about scheduling (415) 901-7130.