| Course | HS215 Medical Insurance and Billing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | Patient balance letter |
| Length | About 560 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HS215 Unit 9
Why You Owe $143.60: A Unit 9 Patient Balance Letter Explaining a Deductible to Someone on Her First Employer Plan
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HS215: Medical Insurance and Billing
Unit 9 Patient Balance Letter
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The patient, practice and amounts are composite; the health literacy guide, survey and textbook cited are real.
The Letter
Dear Ms. [Last Name],
Thank you for visiting our clinic on [date] for your wrist injury. We are writing to explain the bill you will receive, because the amount may be different from what you expected.
What happened with your insurance
We sent the bill for your visit and your wrist X-ray to your insurance company. Here is what they told us:
1. Our total charge was $386.00.
2. Your insurance company has an agreement with us that lowers this to $243.60. You do not owe the difference.
3. Your insurance paid $100.00.
4. The remaining $143.60 is your share.
Why you owe $143.60
Your plan has a deductible. A deductible is the amount you pay for some kinds of care each year before your insurance starts paying its full share. Your plan's deductible is $1,000. Because this is early in your plan year, you had not paid toward it yet, so most of this visit counts toward your deductible.
Your insurance paid $100.00 because your plan covers part of the office visit with a set copay, even before the deductible is met. The X-ray is not covered that way, so it counts toward your deductible.
What this means for later this year
The $143.60 you pay now counts toward your $1,000 deductible. After you have paid $1,000 in total for covered care this year, your insurance will pay a larger share of future bills.
How to pay
You can pay online at [website], by phone at [number] or by mail. If paying the full amount at once is hard, call us to set up a payment plan. We are happy to help.
If you have questions
Call our billing office at [number], on weekdays during business hours You can also compare this letter with the explanation of benefits your insurance company sent you, which shows the same numbers.
Sincerely, Billing Office
The letter uses the word deductible only after it has promised to explain it, and then explains it in one sentence the reader can repeat.
Choices Explained
Plain words. The letter avoids terms such as allowed amount, contractual adjustment and patient responsibility, using "agreement," "you do not owe the difference" and "your share" instead, in line with health literacy guidance for written materials (Brega et al., 2015).
Numbered steps. The four amounts appear in the order they happened, so the reader can follow the arithmetic.
One term kept and defined. Deductible is kept because it appears on her insurance card and plan documents; defining it once lets her recognize it later. Deductibles are now common even in employer coverage, so many first-time members meet one in their first year (KFF, 2024).
Help offered. A payment plan and a phone number appear before the closing, because a surprised reader is more likely to call than to pay.
Check
The letter was read aloud, and each number was checked against the explanation of benefits so the patient can match them line by line (Smith, 2022).
References
Brega, A. G., Barnard, J., Mabachi, N. M., Weiss, B. D., DeWalt, D. A., Brach, C., Cifuentes, M., Albright, K., & West, D. R. (2015). AHRQ health literacy universal precautions toolkit (2nd ed., AHRQ Publication No. 15-0023-EF). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
KFF. (2024). 2024 employer health benefits survey. KFF.
Smith, L. M. (2022). Fordney's medical insurance and billing (16th ed.). Elsevier.
What the HS215 Unit 9 assignment asks for
The ninth unit calls on students to write a letter or statement explaining a patient's balance in plain language, and a brief note on the choices usually follows. Most fall within a few pages. Instructors expect the amounts to be accurate and presented in a logical order, technical terms avoided or defined, the reason for the balance explained and options for payment and questions provided. The tone should be clear and respectful without being apologetic for a correct bill. Instructions frequently ask students to cite health literacy guidance and to check the letter's numbers against the explanation of benefits. Placeholders should replace names, dates and contact details.
How this HS215 Unit 9 example is built
The letter thanks the patient and promises an explanation. Four numbered amounts show how the charge became her share. A section defines the deductible in one sentence and explains why the X-ray counted toward it while the visit had a copay. A short section explains what the payment means for later care. Payment options, including a payment plan, and contact details follow. The highlighted sentence describes the decision to define deductible before using it. The rationale explains plain words, numbered order, the one kept term and the placement of help, and a final check confirms the numbers match the EOB. Every figure in the letter matches a line on the insurer's statement, so the patient can check them side by side.
HS215 Unit 9 rubric: what earns full points
Patient letters tend to be marked on clarity, accuracy of the numbers and explanation, tone, practical help and the quality of the rationale. Clarity is where most marks sit, since a letter the reader cannot follow fails its purpose. Accuracy rewards amounts that add up and match the insurer's statement. Tone earns credit when it is respectful and direct. Practical help scores well when payment options and a contact point are easy to find. Explaining each choice, with a nod to health literacy research, shows the writer understood the reader. Placeholders for personal details make up the rest. Instructors may read the letter aloud to test whether it sounds like a person rather than a billing system.
Common HS215 Unit 9 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A frequent weakness is a letter that copies insurer terminology into the letter without translating it. Another is listing amounts in an order that makes the arithmetic hard to follow. Some students apologize for a correct bill, which can suggest an error. Others forget to mention payment plans or how to ask questions. Numbers that differ from the EOB undermine trust. If your case involves a different balance, perhaps an out-of-network specialist or a coinsurance share after surgery, share the figures and we will produce a letter that explains the amount in plain words. Leaving out what the payment means for the rest of the year misses a chance to prevent the next surprise.
Get an HS215 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 9 scenario with its figures, the audience it describes and the rubric, plus the letterhead or template your instructor supplied, if any. Plain language aimed at that reader shapes the letter, figures reconciled to your scenario, and it returns within 24-48h. The first custom sample is free, and every name in it is fictional. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HS215 Unit 9 questions, answered
What reading level should a patient letter target?
Health literacy guidance commonly recommends writing patient materials at about a sixth- to eighth-grade level, and many HS215 rubrics echo that. Short sentences, common words and one idea per sentence get there. Free readability checkers can estimate the level, though the real test is whether someone with no billing background could say what they owe and why.
Should the letter mention collections?
Only if the prompt requires it, and then factually and late in the letter. A first balance letter usually focuses on explaining the amount and offering ways to pay. Where a follow-up letter is assigned, stating the next step and its date calmly, without threatening language, meets the requirement and keeps the tone the rubric expects.
Can the letter include the diagnosis or the reason for the visit?
Keep clinical detail to what the patient needs to recognize the bill, such as the date of service and the type of visit. The patient knows why they came, and repeating a diagnosis in a mailed letter adds privacy risk without helping the explanation. Many sections note this in feedback when a letter includes more than it needs.
Where can I find a free HS215 Unit 9 sample paper?
This page has the complete Unit 9 balance letter, explaining a $143.60 deductible balance to a patient on her first employer plan.
Why define the word deductible instead of avoiding it?
It appears on her insurance card and plan documents, so defining it once helps her recognize it later.