Professional fee

What does Professional fee mean on a medical bill?

A professional fee is the doctor's own charge for their work: examining you, performing the procedure, reading the images, interpreting the tracing. It is billed by the physician group rather than by the hospital, which is why it usually arrives on its own statement, sometimes weeks later, and why people mistake it for a duplicate. It is not a duplicate. It is also billed under that group's own network status, which is not always the same as the hospital's.

What does Professional fee usually cost?

This half has no room and no equipment in it, so it is normally the smaller of the two bills for the same visit. It follows the physician group's contract with your plan, so it can be out of network even when the hospital was in network.

What should I watch out for with Professional fee?

• A second statement from a group you never met — ask the hospital which service that group provided
• The same reading billed by two different physician groups for one study
• An out-of-network professional fee after emergency care — ask whether federal protections apply to that visit