A health care provider claim may be settled using which of the following payment methods?

• A. Capitation
• B. Salary
• C. Fee-for-service
• D. Per diem

Answer: (C)

Fee-for-service is the payment method that aligns a claim with the actual care provided. In this approach, each service or procedure billed to the insurer has its own payment amount, typically based on a fee schedule or the allowed amount, so the provider is paid for every service rendered to the patient. The other methods don’t settle individual claims per service: capitation pays a fixed amount per enrolled member per period regardless of services used, salary is a fixed wage for employees, and per diem is a daily rate (often used for inpatient care) rather than payment tied to specific billed services.