Overpayment
Money received above what was owed, which generally must be identified and returned.
Get a Free Billing AuditDefinition
An overpayment is an amount received beyond what was actually owed for a claim — from a payer or a patient. It can come from duplicate payments, coordination-of-benefits errors, or incorrect processing.
Overpayments are not found money: they generally must be identified, tracked, and refunded or reconciled, and payers often recover them through recoupment.
Why it matters for billing
Handling overpayments correctly is a compliance matter, not just accounting. Retaining a known overpayment creates exposure, so a clean process to detect, document, and return them keeps the practice compliant and its AR accurate.
Related terms
Terms that come up alongside Overpayment in the revenue cycle.
Billing that gets Overpayment right
EnVisionMD RCM handles eligibility, coding, documentation, denials and follow-up end to end — so the details behind terms like this one are managed for you, not left to chance.
Request a free billing reviewOverpayment — frequently asked questions
Duplicate payments, coordination-of-benefits errors, or incorrect processing by a payer or the practice.
Generally yes. Known overpayments must be identified and refunded or reconciled; retaining them creates compliance risk.