Compliance Corner

Can a laboratory discount patient prices in circumstances other than financial hardship? This is a timely question because of the recent efforts by the government to make health care pricing transparent by publishing prices different providers charge for the same service. As patients become more involved in their own health care, the subject of patient discounting is likely to come up more in the future than in the past. When a laboratory considers discounting patient pricing for any reason, it must keep in mind the circumstances surrounding the request. In any case, the laboratory should never discount its patient pricing to the point where it would not be willing to accept that price for all of its patient. Further, the laboratory should never discount its prices in exchange for referrals.