I have some providers that would like to charge a patient $ 20 for a B12 injection and not submit it to insurance at all when they are in the office for other services. I’m questioning the legality of this.

For example, a patient with insurance is seen for a sick visit and gets labs and a steroid shot. They pay their copay for this. Can we skip billing the insurance for the B12 drug and admin, and charge the patient right away for the $ 20?

The reason for this is that some plans aren’t covering B12 and the providers want to follow the same guidelines for every patient instead of having to remember which insurance is going to cover it or not.

Thanks so much in advance!
Zory