Insurance and billing
Contractual write-off
Also called adjustment, insurance write-off
The portion of a fee an in-network office must remove because it exceeds the plan's agreed amount.
A contractual write-off is the difference between the office's regular fee and the lower amount allowed by an insurance contract. An in-network office agrees not to collect this difference from the patient or the plan, so it is recorded as an adjustment. Posting write-offs correctly keeps patient balances accurate. It also affects production numbers, so offices track both gross and net production.
Example at the front desk
I posted the write-off from the EOB so her balance shows only the copay.