Common methods of inflating health care billings include all of the following EXCEPT:

• A. Sliding policies
• B. Added services
• C. Code manipulation
• D. Altered claims

Answer: (A)

This item tests your ability to recognize fraudulent tactics used to inflate health care billings. Inflating charges typically happens by manipulating how services are billed: choosing higher-paying codes than what was actually performed (code manipulation), billing for services that weren’t provided or beyond what was delivered (added services), and altering claim details such as procedures, dates, or charges to receive more money (altered claims). Sliding policies, by contrast, isn’t a standard method used to inflate billings; it relates to pricing or coverage adjustments rather than misrepresenting services on a claim. So the option describing sliding policies does not fit with the other common inflation methods.