A common question Chiropractors have about Medicare is, “Can you extend a discount, or reduce the bill, for a Medicare patient whose entire claim is denied by Medicare (citing no coverage exists), and who selects option number 1 on the ABN?” The best rule of thumb with Medicare is to never give a Medicare patient a deal or a discount.
There is a law called the inducement law that you may come into conflict with if you give discounts or deals to anybody covered under Medicare. There is one general exception to that rule and that exception is if you can prove your patient has financial hardship.
Many large clinics, hospitals, and chiropractic clinics prove this by establishing the household income for their patient. Typically they will state that the patient qualifies for a hardship discount if the household income is two or three times greater than the poverty index. You can find out the poverty index pretty quickly online.
That however is the only exception so the general rule is no, no, no! Don’t give any deals to any of your Medicare patients.
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