Improvement

Billing for Relatives

Billing for Immediate Family Members Violates Medicare Regulations

Billing for immediate family members is excluded from Medicare coverage. No payment is allowed for services provided to an immediate family member. Medicare expects that these services would be provided gratuitously if the patient did not have coverage. Immediate relatives include:

Husband and wife

Natural or adoptive parent, child, and sibling

Stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, and stepsister

Father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law

Grandparent and grandchild

Spouse of grandparent and grandchild

Billing Medicare for any of the above is not permitted and must be avoided. Many commercial carriers also exclude coverage.