Confidential billing accounts for adolescents in private practice

The purpose of this study was to determine how individual confidential billing accounts for adolescents in private practice would be received, and to assess the impact of these accounts on practice reimbursement. Adolescents wishing to keep confidential any part of the charges for an office visit were offered individual billing accounts. Enrollees agreed to pay whenever and whatever they could. One attempt was made to contact nonpayers at least 3 months after starting their accounts. The mean charge for 40 confidential accounts was $42 (total charges $1489) and all of the charges were for laboratory testing. Participants reimbursed 38% of the total charged ($565/$1489). Confidential accounts were well-received by study participants and may improve access to confidential care.