Thanks, Michele. This practitioner, and other solo practitioners I've encountered, have no concept of these things. As a result, such as in this case where the provider didn't give me any information in advance so that I could look into what coverage and benefits the client had, I seem to spend time putting out fires for them. (The proper process is in my contract and I've verbally explained it to them). Very frustrating for me...and they lose money when they fail to verify all the insurance information and get a prior authorization, if required, before they even see the client for the first time. These are not emergency cases and the information could have been gathered in advance. Ugh!
Anyway, it says in Medicare's on-line handbook that people can have a "private contract" with a provider. So, apparently, they can pay the provider's full fee themselves, but not too many people would be willing to do that and, of course, it would eliminate any secondary coverage they might have.