Payer policy
Underpayment
A claim paid at less than the contracted allowable, without a denial to signal the shortfall.
What it means in dermatology
Detecting them requires loading contracted rates and comparing every remittance line against the expected allowable. Without that comparison, underpayments post as paid and close.
Fee schedule updates, place-of-service reductions and incorrectly applied multiple-procedure logic are the common causes in dermatology.
Why it matters to your revenue
Underpayments are silent: nothing on the remittance asks anyone to look.
See this term in your own numbers
A free claims audit reviews a de-identified sample of your dermatology claims and returns a line-item findings report — including where terms like this one are costing you money.
Request a free claims audit