MA Ch 10: Coding & Billing

MAs may record (a)   , or income to the practice, and (b)   , or expenses for the practice.

• Credits

• Debits

• Cash

• Credit

A patient encounter summary is created

• If there is a charge in addition to the patient’s copayment

• If a new diagnosis is made

• If a patient needs proof of the visit for work or school

• For every visit

What are two common ways to group patients into billing cycles?

• Alphabetically by first name; numerically by insurance policy number

• Alphabetically by last name; numerically by social security number

• Alphabetically by last name; by date of service

• By date of service; by length of time the patient has seen the provider.

Which of the following would be true at an office that charges patients on a sliding scale?

• The provider would decide on a case-by-case basis if he wanted to use the sliding scale or not.

• The sliding scale would be used in the same way for all patients.

• Each patient could choose whether to pay on a sliding scale or not.

• The sliding scale would only apply to the highest-cost services.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

Any adjustments to a provider’s usual charges must be

• Authorized by CMS

• Supported by written office policy

• Reported to the CDC

• Requested by the patient

How often are patients billed for outstanding balances?

• Weekly

• Every other week

• Monthly

• Quarterly

What should always be done when a patient pays for an appointment using cash?

• The money should be counted in front of the patient and a receipt should be provided.

• The MA should request that the patient pay in the largest bills possible to reduce the chance of counting errors.

• The money should be added to the office’s petty cash and the patient asked to sign the petty cash register.

• A second staff member should witness the payment and a receipt should be provided.

If a medical office offers a year-long payment plan on a large bill, the patient must

• pay the full amount upfront

• make monthly payments

• ignore the bill

• pay only at the end of the year

What does an aging report show?

• The appointments for the day at a medical facility, organized by the patients’ ages

• The length of time that has passed since a charge was posted to an account

• The length of time it will take for a patient with a payment plan to complete all payments

• A patient’s history of on-time payment.

For an office with a policy of following the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which of these practices would not be allowed?

• Telling a patient with an overdue balance that their case will be referred to law enforcement if payment is not received in 30 days

• Calling a patient at 6:00 p.m. to request payment

• Sending a letter to the patient noting that after 120 days their account will be turned over to a collection agency

• Leaving a voicemail that says, “Hello, this is Kathie at Hartman Physicians’ Group calling for Joe. Please give me a call at 505-291-1274.”