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LostInParadise's avatar

What do you think of this term?

Asked by LostInParadise (31917points) January 6th, 2012

I do programming for a company that handles state Medicare and Medicaid payments. I recently heard the term capitation in the context of capitation claims and capitation payments. Maybe it is my warped sense of humor, but the first thought that occurred to me is that capitation must be the opposite of decapitation, which would be a pretty neat trick.

The actual (and much more mundane) definition, which I grabbed off the Web is:
capitation: a payment method for health care services. The physician, hospital, or other health care provider is paid a contracted rate for each member assigned, referred to as “per-member-per-month” rate, regardless of the number or nature of services provided. The contractual rates are usually adjusted for age, gender, illness, and regional differences.

I suppose it makes sense as being related to per capita. For the foreseeable future there is not likely to be any ambiguity with any reverse decapitation process. In any event, if a severed head is returned to its original body, that process might better be called recapitation.

Feel free to mention any particular occupational jargon that you would like to share.

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