More physicians said to be seeking medical fees at time of service.
On the front page of its Health section, the Washington Post (3/3, HE1, Kritz) reports, "More and more physicians are asking for the patient's share of that day's medical fees, including any deductible set by the insurer, at the time of the visit." According to Red Gillen, an analyst with consulting firm Celent, "in the past few years...employers and insurers have shifted more [medical] costs to consumers," and as a result, those payments are "an increasingly large share of doctors' incomes." And, "largely through new software programs that assess both a patient's insurance coverage and the day's charges," patients can now see "a full adjudication of the bill" within "just minutes" of their visit.
But, Mark Rukavina, executive director of the Access Project, notes that "not all providers have let their patients know that payment[s]...are expected at the time of care."
William Dolan, a trustee of the American Medical Association, and an orthopedic surgeon, explains that "the AMA has no policy on patients being asked for payment at the time of care but suggests that doctors give patients warning weeks before implementing a new payment policy."
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