All health care insurance, including Medicare, set a distinction for first
visits in an office or urgent care setting. The new patient charge is
typically reimbursed at slightly higher rates than all following visits
to the same location, due to the additional work required to set up new
accounts and obtaining all the necessary details to make this happen.
Established patients are those that have been seen at the office or urgent
care in the past three years The charge for an established patient visit
is typically less than the new patient charge.