A patient receives services with a total charge of $150. After the insurance claim is processed, the remittance advice indicates the patient's total responsibility is $30. The patient had already paid a $50 co-payment at the time of service. How should the medical assistant handle the resulting credit on the patient's account?
Transfer the credit balance to a family member's account.
Issue a refund to the patient for the $20 overpayment.
Post a $20 contractual adjustment to zero out the account.
Apply the $20 credit balance to the patient's future visits.
The patient's payment of $50 exceeds their determined responsibility of $30, which creates a $20 credit balance on their account. The proper and legally required action is to refund this overpayment to the patient. While a practice might offer to apply the credit to future services, this can only be done with the patient's agreement; the primary obligation is to return the money. Transferring the credit to another account or writing it off as an adjustment are incorrect and unethical procedures.
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