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capitation

capitation

1 9.9
A fixed payment each person must pay, the same for everyone
  • noun
  • /ˌkæpɪˈteɪʃən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : capitación
  • No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.

Examples

  • It is not a capitation.

    Blog text (3)
  • A new capitation tax has been proposed that requires every citizen to pay the same amount annually.

  • Well, the first one is capitation, which is just coming in and.

  • This is also called a head tax, capitation tax, or poll tax.

    Blog text (16)
  • We could get all technical and talk about "capitation" (this means payment of a set fee "per head" to health care companies, rather than fee-for-service).

    Blog text (14)
  • Capitations are taxes paid by every person," without regard to property, profession, or any other circumstance.

    Blog text (3)
  • Hospitals already have a form of capitation in diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), with their inherent incentive to limit services.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Gross charges per physician include total fee-for-service activity, capitation activity, and other medical activity (e.g., revenue from the sale of medical goods and services, grants, honoraria, and subsidies from parent organizations for operating activities).

    Academic text (2000)
  • Perhaps the hottest topic on campuses these days is learning the art of contracting, negotiating with physicians, insurance companies, and ancillary providers, and figuring out how to best administer the complexities of risk pools, capitation rates, and actuarial services.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The local government decided to implement a capitation system to ensure all residents contribute equally to community services.

Antonyms

1 3.7

A tax added to the price of goods or services

Compounds

7.4

A system that pays doctors a fixed amount per patient for a set time even if they need more care

Surface Forms

capitation singular
capitations plural

Morphology

capitation = capit + ation

This is a learned Latin-based formation from capit- plus -ation, but the 'per head' meaning is not directly recoverable for most learners.

Etymology

Capitation comes from the Latin caput meaning 'head', and it literally means a payment 'per head'. You can see the same root in the word captain, a leader, and capital, meaning money, which helps explain why a capitation tax or fee makes every person pay the same fixed amount.