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PLAIDMAN

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Can someone please direct me towards documentation regarding not charging patients or writing off balances. I am having an issue with docs putting a "no charge" on their bills or telling patient they will just write off the surgery if they cant pay for it. These are people WITH insurance, both commercial and medicare patients, that is happening frequently.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
You may want to refer to insurance contracts themselves. If the insurance carriers find out that you aren't holding the patients accountable for their portion of the charges, the carriers may refuse to pay for their portions as well.
 
Can someone please direct me towards documentation regarding not charging patients or writing off balances. I am having an issue with docs putting a "no charge" on their bills or telling patient they will just write off the surgery if they cant pay for it. These are people WITH insurance, both commercial and medicare patients, that is happening frequently.

Any help would be appreciated.

There can be situations that call for an adjustment but it shouldn't be the norm...

Where the Medicare and Medicaid programs require patients to pay copays for services, you are generally required to collect that money from your patients. Routinely waiving these copays could implicate the AKS and you may not advertise that you will forgive copayments. However, you are free to waive a copayment if you make an individual determination that the patient cannot afford to pay or if your reasonable collection efforts fail. It is also legal to provide free or discounted services to uninsured people.

http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/PhysicianEducation/01laws.asp
 
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