If a patient pays for a service with cash, must the provider honor a request to restrict disclosure to the insurance company?

When a patient pays for a service in cash, they have specific rights regarding the privacy of their information, particularly concerning how that service is billed and disclosed to insurance companies. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows patients to request restrictions on certain disclosures of their protected health information.

In the scenario where a patient pays out-of-pocket in full and requests that the service not be disclosed to their insurance provider, the healthcare provider must comply with this request. This is to respect the patient's right to confidentiality and control over their health information, especially since they have opted to pay cash to avoid any potential sharing of that visit's details with their insurer.

This requirement underscores the importance of patient autonomy and the need for providers to honor patient requests when it comes to their health information. Thus, the provider must indeed honor the request to restrict disclosure to the insurance company under these circumstances.