An underpayment happens when a payer pays less than the contracted allowed amount for a service, for example because of a fee schedule error or incorrect processing. Underpayments only get noticed if payments are compared against expected reimbursement.
Related terms
- Allowed amount
- The maximum a payer will pay for a covered service under its contract or fee schedule.
- Payment posting
- Recording insurance and patient payments and adjustments against claims.
- Net collection rate
- How much of the money you were entitled to collect you actually collected.