A medical expense policy's benefits based on the usual charges for procedures is known as?

The correct answer pertains to the concept of "usual, customary and reasonable" (UCR) charges, which are commonly used in medical expense policies. This term describes a pricing model where the insurance benefits are determined based on the standard fees that healthcare providers typically charge for specific procedures in a particular geographic area.

In this approach, insurance companies evaluate what is considered reasonable and customary for medical services by looking at the fees charged by various providers within a certain region. This helps in ensuring that the reimbursement process reflects what the majority of professionals in that area would charge.

The other options, while relevant to healthcare billing and insurance, do not specifically refer to this common practice of determining benefits based on typical charges. For instance, a benefit schedule refers to a predefined list of services and their covered amounts, but it does not take into account the variability in charges in different locations. Similarly, gatekeepers are typically associated with managed care and coordination of services rather than the determination of benefits based on charges, and a relative-value schedule assigns values to different medical procedures but does not directly relate to the actual charges made by doctors. Hence, "usual, customary and reasonable" accurately describes the benefits structure in question.