01For parents
Everything before the first visit
Records, insurance, the portal, prescription refills and the policies that catch people out. All in one place so nobody has to call the front desk to find out.
- Records transferWe request them, you sign once
- PortalInvite sent when you book
- RefillsTwo business days via your pharmacy
- FormsNo fee for established patients
02
What to bring on day one
- A photo ID and your insurance card
- Your child's immunization record, especially if you are moving from out of state
- The name and address of your previous practice so we can request records
- Any current medicines, in their own bottles rather than written on a list
- Your questions, written down. Everyone forgets them in the room.
Arrive fifteen minutes early for a first visit. If your child is anxious about medical rooms, say so when you book and ask for a sensory-friendly slot. You will not be asked to explain why.
If this is a medical emergency, or your child is struggling to breathe, unresponsive, having a seizure, or badly injured, call 911 now. Call 911.
03
Insurance and what things cost
A sample plan list for this demonstration site. Coverage changes every plan year, so call the number on the back of your card and ask specifically about Little Sprouts Pediatrics.
Plans we take
- Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa
- UnitedHealthcare
- Aetna
- Cigna
- Midlands Choice
- Iowa Total Care
- Amerigroup Iowa
- Iowa Medicaid
- Hawki
- Tricare
We are a Vaccines for Children provider. Eligible children get routine vaccines regardless of your ability to pay the administration fee.
Self-pay prices
- New patient well-child visit$210
- Established well-child visit$175
- Same-day sick visit$135
- Telehealth visit$59
- Standalone sports physical$65
- Lactation consult, 60 minutes$120
- Rapid strep with reflex culture$28
- Spirometry$70
Sample figures. Labs, imaging and vaccines are billed separately. Ask the front desk for a written estimate before a visit.
General information, not medical advice. It is not tailored to your child and it does not replace a visit. Nothing here is a quote or a guarantee of coverage.
04
Records, forms and refills
Moving records to us
Sign one release at your first visit and we request the chart. Bring the immunization record on paper anyway, because transfers can take weeks and school deadlines do not wait.
School and camp forms
Upload the blank form through the portal before the visit and it goes back the same day. Every Iowa form and its deadline is listed on the forms page.
Prescription refills
Ask your pharmacy to send the request to us rather than calling. Routine refills are processed within two business days. Controlled medicines such as ADHD stimulants need a current follow-up visit under Iowa rules, so book before you run out.
The patient portal
Your invite arrives when you book. Visit summaries, growth charts, immunization records, forms and non-urgent messages all live there. From age 12 the adolescent portion becomes restricted under state and federal rules, and your teenager can hold their own login.
The portal is not for anything urgent. Call us instead, and call 911 for an emergency.
05
Policies people ask about
The practical rules: missed appointments, sick siblings, late arrivals and what happens when a plan changes mid-year.
All parent questionsCall the clinic at 7:30am when the phones open. We hold same-day slots at all three clinics every weekday and run a sick-only Saturday morning clinic at Ingersoll from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Portal messages are not the fast route for an acute problem.
Within 48 hours of discharge from any Des Moines hospital. Call us from the postpartum floor and we book it while you are still there.
We are in network with the major commercial plans in central Iowa, Iowa Medicaid and Hawki. Coverage changes, so call the number on the back of your card and ask specifically whether Little Sprouts Pediatrics is in network for your plan year. Sample plan list only on this demonstration site.
Most plans cover preventive well visits and routine vaccines at 100 percent. If we also treat something acute during the same appointment, that part may generate a separate office-visit charge. We tell you in the room before we do it.
We have a self-pay schedule, and we are a Vaccines for Children provider, which means eligible children get their routine vaccines regardless of ability to pay the administration fee. Ask the front desk, they will not make it awkward.
No separate form fee for established patients. Upload the blank form through the portal before the visit and most forms go back the same day.
Sign a records release with us at the first visit and we request them. Bring whatever paper you hold, especially the immunization record, in case the transfer is slow.
From age 12 we spend part of every visit alone with your child. Iowa law gives minors confidentiality in specific areas, and we explain to you both, in the room, what stays private and what does not. Safety always overrides confidentiality.
Join the practice
Tell us your child's age and your nearest clinic. We send the portal invite and the records release the same day.