New Laws Require Billing Disclosures by Physicians

A raft of new rules took effect Sept. 1, 2007, requiring medical practices to reveal specific billing information to patients, including the following:

  • All physicians must maintain written policies regarding any discounts they provide for medical services to uninsured or indigent patients, what interest rate - if any - they applied to billed charges not paid by a third-party payer, and how they will handle  patient complaints related to such charges. Physicians also must post notices in their offices informing patients of the policies.
  • Some physicians must disclose a variety of information when billing insured patients for out-of-network services.
  • Physicians who bill any patient for anatomical pathology services they did not personally perform or supervise must provide an itemized statement of charges.

Details are available on the TMA Web site.

Reviewed Oct. 30, 2013

Last Updated On

April 27, 2018

Originally Published On

March 23, 2010