fee-for-service

noun

fee-for-ser·​vice ˌfē-fər-ˈsər-vəs 

often attributive

: separate payment to a health-care provider for each medical service rendered to a patient

Examples of fee-for-service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the nonprofit sector, using a fee-for-service payment model for material assistance is highly unusual, said Vincent Francisco, a professor at the University of Kansas who has worked as a nonprofit administrator, evaluator and consultant over the past three decades. —Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 9 July 2024

This will eventually require that China move away from its overreliance on a fee-for-service payment method, which is often associated with escalating health-care costs. —Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2011

The prevailing dental economic model based on fee-for-service creates an environment of dental overdiagnosis and overtreatment. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 7 May 2024

In the fee-for-service model, foot traffic matters more than ever. —Owen Tripp, STAT, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

fee-for-service

noun

fee-for-ser·​vice ˌfē-fər-ˈsər-vəs 

: separate payment to a health-care provider for each medical service rendered to a patient

—often used attributively

a fee-for-service group plan