Having one patient billed one way, and another patient billed another way is an invitation for some regulator to assume that some cheatin' is going on. Local prosecutors can earn themselves a nice political boost by bashing up a local doctor who finds himself accused of overbilling patients. That the doc only ends up ruined, not in jail, is not much comfort...although it is theoretically possible that he can end up in jail, too.
Even well-intentioned physicians can find themselves visited by the feds and the HCFA dudes, ready to carry out your files in cardboard boxes...An entire "compliance" industry of lawyering has sprung up to try to help docs figure out how to obey laws that don't make much sense to anyone, especially not the lawyers themselves, who aren't nearly as intelligent as we give them credit for.... Hiring these compliance firms is a useful demonstration of "good faith" when the feds descend upon your practice, even if their advice isn't worth what you're paying for.
Keep in mind, that these compliance firms fees are part of the expenses that get passed on to the patients. Ain't lawyering grand?
BTW, the lawyers can discount their fees any way they please. :' )
No businessman should assume that the law has any common sense.
That is an excellent point. I am intimately familiar with that BS as I once did Utilization Review--what a crock! We have a huge number of government bureaucrats trying to cut costs, while an entire industry has grown up trying to maximize reimbursement.
In the meantime, the health consumer is the loser.