capitation
UK: ˌkæpɪˈteɪʃən | US: ˌkæpɪˈteɪʃən
n. a tax or fee levied per person; a uniform charge for each individual.
n. (historical) a poll tax.
n. (medicine) a system of payment for healthcare services based on a fixed fee per patient.
capitation = capit<head> + ation<noun suffix>
- capit: From Latin caput (head), referring to a person as a unit (as in "per head").
- ation: A suffix forming nouns indicating an action or process (e.g., taxation, donation).
Etymology Origin:
The word capitation traces back to Latin caput (head), reflecting the practice of counting individuals "by heads" for taxation or payment purposes. Over time, it evolved into a financial term for per-person charges, retaining its literal connection to the human head as a symbolic unit of measurement.
The government imposed a capitation fee of $50 on every adult citizen.
In medieval Europe, capitation was a common form of taxation.
The clinic switched to a capitation model, billing insurers a fixed rate per patient.
Critics argue that capitation in healthcare may incentivize undertreatment.
The new policy replaced property taxes with a capitation system.