Questions for Dr. Stern
About Your Urgent Care Center
89. For uninsured patients, how much discount should be given? 70% off charges? Particularly in California.
It would be extremely rare to offer such a big discount to self-pay patients. It would be unadvisable for the following reasons:
- Unless your fee schedule is ridiculously high, you could not operate profitably at these discounts.
- Discounts should be given not for being self-pay, but for paying in full at time of service.
- You will need to watch out for accepting any fees that are below a Medicare fee schedule, as this may produce legal problems, if you are participating in the Medicare program.
Feel free to contact us with billing and coding questions.
