Practice Management Alert

Discounts and write-offs are options, if you follow these guidelines. That a patient may have trouble paying his bills because of financial difficulty is a discouraging fact of the modern economic climate. While you certainly remain concerned for your patients' well-being, your job is also to keep your practice financially healthy. When financial hardship strikes a patient, it's hard to resist the temptation to waive a copay or deductible -- or possibly even just write off the balance. The problem: Routinely waiving deductibles and copayments can violate several federal laws and regulations, including the federal False Claims Act, anti-kickback statutes, and compliance guidelines for individual and small group physician practices. Doing so may also violate payer contracts and could result in your removal from a health plan's provider panel. Know When You Can't Waive The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued guidance about waiving copays and deductibles. In the Federal [...]