Legally required to bill?

[Danni R.]

Everything in a medical office/clinc/hospital must be documented. Billing the patient is a form of ducumentation. If fee is waived, then it should be entered into the record, usually as a "medical courtesy". Otherwise - simply NOT billing a patient may have rammifications, such as being deemed unethical.

[amsevensix]

I ask this question because my husband gets a salary to see patients and he can bill insurance companies for his services for certain patients.  Most have insurance but there are very few who do not.  So it would take up more  time and energy than it is probably worth to bill them when they cannot afford to pay.  But I was told we are still legally required to bill them.

[amsevensix]

Hi All: I work for one doctor who works as a hospitalist and we deal mostly with medi-cal / medicare patients.

When A patient does not have insurance of any kind am I legally required to bill the patient directly?

I'm in Southern California and I'm very new to the med-billing field.  I'm learning as I go here.