Which option is NOT used to determine realizable amounts?

The correct answer highlights that determining realizable amounts typically relies on factors present before the discharge or completion of service. Realizable amounts represent what a provider expects to collect based on established agreements and policies.

Contractual agreements outline financial arrangements between healthcare providers and payers, stipulating payment rates, coverage, and conditions under which services are rendered. These agreements play a crucial role in establishing expected revenue.

Legislation or regulation, including laws governing healthcare finance and patient billing, set the parameters for practices and compensation, thereby influencing realized amounts. This can encompass Medicare and Medicaid guidelines, which directly affect payments.

Provider policy or practice might relate to billing practices and how providers handle collections and write-offs, affecting the anticipated realizable amounts for the services rendered.

However, the realization of amounts occurring subsequent to patient discharge or completion of service shifts the focus to assessments made after the fact, potentially introducing uncertainty into the collection process rather than relying on pre-existing agreements and regulations. Hence, it does not contribute to the initial determination of realizable amounts as effectively as the other options do.