Given two contract lines, outpatient imaging at $300 and inpatient per diems at $1500, which line should be placed first in the contract?

• A. The outpatient line
• B. The inpatient line due to higher price
• C. The inpatient line because inpatient lines are adjudicated first
• D. The inpatient line because contracts read top to bottom and we want higher priced lines first

Answer: (D)

In many contract systems, pricing is determined by the first line that matches a claim. That means the order you place line items in can directly affect the reimbursement you receive. If a service could be billed under more than one line, the first matching line wins.

Here, the inpatient per diem is priced at 1500, while outpatient imaging is 300. Placing the inpatient line first ensures that inpatient services are reimbursed at the higher rate whenever the service could fall under either line. This matches the top-to-bottom processing idea and secures the higher reimbursement.

Putting the outpatient line first would risk applying the lower price in cases where the service could be categorized as inpatient. The statement about inpatient lines always being adjudicated first isn’t a universal rule; what matters is the line order and the first-match principle.