In medical billing, what term describes the ledger balance representing pending payments from patients and payers?

In medical billing, what term describes the ledger balance representing pending payments from patients and payers?

• A. Accounts Payable
• B. Write-offs
• C. Accounts Receivable
• D. Patient Ledger

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is tracking money owed to the practice. Accounts Receivable is the ledger balance that shows pending payments from patients and payers—the amounts the practice expects to collect but hasn’t received yet. It’s an asset on the financials because it represents cash the practice is due. This balance grows when new charges are posted and a promise to pay is recorded, and it shrinks when payments are posted or when adjustments and write-offs occur for amounts deemed uncollectible. The other terms describe different things: Accounts Payable are what the practice owes to vendors, not what is owed to the practice; write-offs reduce AR when some of the balance is unlikely to be collected; and the Patient Ledger is the detailed per-patient record of charges and payments, not the overall outstanding balance.

The key idea here is tracking money owed to the practice. Accounts Receivable is the ledger balance that shows pending payments from patients and payers—the amounts the practice expects to collect but hasn’t received yet. It’s an asset on the financials because it represents cash the practice is due.

This balance grows when new charges are posted and a promise to pay is recorded, and it shrinks when payments are posted or when adjustments and write-offs occur for amounts deemed uncollectible. The other terms describe different things: Accounts Payable are what the practice owes to vendors, not what is owed to the practice; write-offs reduce AR when some of the balance is unlikely to be collected; and the Patient Ledger is the detailed per-patient record of charges and payments, not the overall outstanding balance.