Question

A new patient who does not have insurance is preparing to write a check to pay for her office visit. The physician instructs the medical assistant to charge the patient the usual office fee, then give her a 10% discount for the cash payment. In this office, a manual day sheet is always completed at the time of visit. The patient’s total charges before any discounts are applied equal $160.

Consider the following when responding:
What amount should the MA charge the patient?
What amounts should be entered in the following boxes of the day sheet: fee, payment, adjustment, and new balance?
If there is an adjustment, is it a debit or credit adjustment? Why?
If the MA discovers an unexpected box checked on the superbill, who should she confirm the correct charges with?

Answer 1

The patient should be charged $144. The fee, payment, adjustment, and new balance on the day sheet should be $160, $0, $16, and $144 respectively.

Step-by-step explanation:

The MA should charge the patient $160 - (10% of $160) = $144.

On the day sheet:

• Fee box: $160
• Payment box: $0
• Adjustment box: $16
• New balance box: $144

The adjustment is a debit adjustment because it is reducing the total charges for the patient.

If the MA discovers an unexpected box checked on the superbill, she should confirm the correct charges with the physician or another supervising staff member.