title: Waiving Deductibles and Copays: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.
abstract: In an age of high deductibles, many surgical candidates are requesting that practices reduce or waive the self-pay portion of the professional fee. These requests come with a risk to the practice. Third-party payer agreements often prohibit discounting of fees to patients. Claiming breach of contract and interference with actuarial calculations, some third-party payers have sued practices for waiving fees owed by their insureds. Only by having the proper policies in place may a practice safely engage in fee reductions for patients insured by an entity with whom the practice has a contractual relationship.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sacopulos
mesh_terms: D005251:Fees, Medical; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D008484:Medicaid; D006278:Medicare; D011216:Practice Management, Medical; D014481:United States