I am occasionally asked by providers whether or not they can waive a co-pay for a particular patient. There are many reasons providers wish to waive co-pays: financial hardship, professional courtesy, employee discounts, etc. All of these reasons are well justified and appropriately motivated. Further, all of these reasons would be appropriate for a client discount in almost any other industry (e.g., retail) except healthcare, which is one of the most, if not the most, highly regulated industries. Consequently, appropriate motivation is not always sufficient for giving "patient discounts" due to applicable legal restrictions. This article will focus on waiving co-pays for reasons related to financial hardship.

Originally Published in the Birmingham Medical News - May 2018.