MAY 07, 2019
Patient Balance with Medicare as Secondary Payer
Question: Our patient has Medicare as a secondary payer, which has a higher allowable than the commercial primary, leaving a patient balance. Do we collect this amount from the patient?
Answer: The best course of action is to follow the remittance advice, which in this case shows the patient responsible for the balance. Medicare as the secondary payer doesn't pay like a supplemental payer.
Learn more about payers in the Learn to Code the Essentials