Medical Billing Forum

Payments => Patient Billing => : ste November 17, 2011, 02:40:23 AM

: fee forgiving
: ste November 17, 2011, 02:40:23 AM

Is fee forgiving illegal for out-of-network providers?

: Re: fee forgiving
: PMRNC November 17, 2011, 09:58:10 AM

I'm assuming you mean discounting or write-off? It is illegal to routinely waive patient out of pocket. If you are discounting or waiving, the carrier (In or Out of network) must be offered the same discount as the patient. It also violates the "patients" policy. Your office policy should be clear and consistent of how patient out of pocket is handled, your compliance manual should also have clear guidelines on this as well as financial hardship cases which MUST be documented for every case.