Usual customary fee

The usual customary fee is the fee typically or usually charged for a service in a particular geographic area.

This prevents providers from charging outrageous prices for services, by determining acceptable fees based on local competition. This also compensates for different operating costs in different parts of the country.

However, some managed care companies compute their own "usual fee." This is not reflective of what most professionals charge, but is their managed care rate. In other words, some managed care companies will not pay a fee that is higher than their in-network fee. It is important to check this before beginning treatment.