Co payment affordability

Routine copayment waivers for patients with any third party payments are against sevreal Federal and State regulations.

Medicare (as per the OIG) will not enforce antikick back, Stark or other incentivizing regulations if the the patient has a Financial Hardship, if all of the following are satisfied:

1. The waiver is not part of any advertised solution or sollication

2. The provider does not routinely waive co payments or deductibles

3. The provider must in good faith determine that the patient is in financial need or failus to collect the copayments and/or deductibles after making reasonable collection efforts.

As for private payors:

Most providers contracts require that providers attempt to collect copayments or deductibles.

However, most payors would not create issues if the provider establshed they waived any cost sharing if they could establish financial need.

To conclude, there is no specific CMS or universal third party form releasing patients from any cost sharing obligations.

One's practice financial policy must outline all the patient's financial obligations and patients should be asked to sign off on this..

Then the patient should be asked to sign a waiver on each visit.

But there is no specific CMS mandated form.

In my opinion, your patient should sign a waiver at each visit