primary insurance

Medical term Administrative Assisting

The plan that pays a claim first when a patient has more than one; the secondary plan then considers the remaining balance.

Sources

Medicare Secondary Payer (MLN006903, July 2025) · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Learning Network

Related terms

claimA request to a health plan for payment for services provided.
no-showA patient who misses a scheduled appointment without canceling.
out-of-pocket limitThe most a patient must pay for covered services in a plan year; after that the plan pays 100 percent.
preauthorizationA plan's advance decision that a service, drug or equipment is medically necessary; also called prior…
premiumThe amount paid, often monthly, to buy and keep health insurance.
problem-oriented medical recordA record organized around the patient's problems, often with SOAP notes.
SOAP noteA documentation format: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan.
source-oriented recordA medical record organized into sections by the source (discipline) that provided the information.
UCRUsual, customary and reasonable: the amount paid for a service in an area based on what providers there…