balance bill

verb, transitive + intransitive

: to bill a patient for the balance of the costs of medical services not covered by the patient's insurance provider

A provider who has agreed to accept assignment as payment in full cannot balance bill the patient.

—Debora A. Slee, Slee's Health Care Terms, 2007

The Canadian evidence suggests that the easier it is for physicians to balance bill, the more difficult it is to control fees.

—John Holahan, Medicare Physician Payment Reform, 1986

balance bill noun

When confronted with a balance bill, do not hesitate to call the doctor and discuss payment.

—Walecia Konrad, New York Times, 1 May 2010

balance billing noun

Many have been critical of a January California Supreme Court decision that banned balance billing …

—Paul Raeburn, Star-News (Wilmington, North Carolina), 30 Aug. 2009

Word History

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined above

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