By: Jon Jablon, Esq.

It is increasingly common within the self-funded industry for medical providers to demand full billed charges for non-contracted claims. As we know, no one is actually required to pay full billed charges – but when push comes to shove, that tends to be the prevailing demand.

What about when the plan document limits payment at a percentage of Medicare? Say, 150%? The fiduciary has a duty to strictly abide by the terms of the plan document when making payments – and the definition of a non-contracted claim is that there is no contract to provide services at an agreed-upon price. Interestingly, though, and perhaps rendering it a misnomer, a non-contracted claim is still subject to two distinct contracts – an assignment of benefits, and the all-important plan document.

The plan document, of course, defines the Plan’s payment mechanisms and explains beneficiaries’ rights. When the plan document says that the Plan will pay $X, and the Plan does pay $X, the Plan has followed the terms of the plan document to a T. Or to an X, anyway. Let’s boil that down as simply as possible: X = X. What could be simpler than that?

Next, the assignment of benefits is an agreement between the patient and the provider. The patient says “I will transfer you all health plan benefits due to me ($X), and I promise that if $X does not compensate you fully, I will pay whatever balance you think makes sense.” In return, the medical provider promises to provide valuable medical services. We at The Phia Group have discussed the concept of assignments of benefits ad nauseum, and for good reason; this is the mechanism by which medical providers become beneficiaries of Plan benefits, and are due $X from the Plan.

Question: does an assignment of benefits give providers the right to receive full billed charges from the Plan, even though the Plan limits its benefits to an amount less than billed charges? There are a lot of moving parts in the self-funded industry, and this is yet another; the answer you may not have expected is maybe: it depends on the Plan’s geography.

Is the Plan domiciled in Fantasyland, home of laughable arguments, unexplainable oddities, and absurd logic? Then yes – billed charges will be due on every non-contracted claim, regardless of plan document language.

Or, is the Plan domiciled in Realityville, where general legal and market principles do exist, words have actual meaning, and hospitals and attorneys can be expected to be at least reasonably informed? If that’s where the Plan is, then no – of course an assignment of benefits doesn’t guarantee payment of full billed charges.

What are you, nuts?