Free consultation for Medicare Patients

Our office advertises and offers Free Screening for our vein patients. I have always been under the impression that we cannot offer a "Free Consult" to a Medicare patient. Does any one know the definitive ruling on this?

re: Free consultation for Medicare Patients

I typed in my search engine, physician offering free consultations to medicare beneficiaries, and a lot of it warns patients to watch out for providers offering free consultations, giving their MC numbers out and other warnings. I think it depends on why the free consults, are they taking their MC numbers for this so called free service and if so why? There's a lot of other questions that would need to be found out before a definitive answer could be found but you can search your question and then figure out how your provider fits into the mold sort of speak. I didn't have a lot of time this morning for a thorough search so maybe someone else will have a more definitive answer. My only definitive answer off the top of my head would be, be careful when it comes to Medicare and just do whats right.

re: Free consultation for Medicare Patients

If you are offering all patients (regardless of payers) the free exam then you are fine. You get in trouble when you offer free services to some patients and charge other patients based on their insurance.