A patient receives a routine check-up, and the office visit is billed at $150. The patient's insurance company processes the claim and pays $120, which reflects the agreed contractual rate for the service. The patient had already paid a $50 co-pay at the time of service. How should the medical assistant process the overpayment in the patient's account?
Issue a refund to the patient for the overpayment.
Transfer the credit balance to another patient's account with an outstanding balance.
The medical assistant should issue a refund to the patient for the amount overpaid. Since the patient paid a $50 co-pay and the insurance covered the full cost of $120 for the office visit, there is a $20 credit balance, which represents an overpayment by the patient. Refunding this amount is necessary to reconcile the patient's account, ensuring that the practice does not retain funds that are not owed to them.
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