Meanings
plural capitations
- countableuncountablePerforming a headcount; the counting of people.
- countableuncountableA system of remuneration for providers of health care, in which providers enroll patients as permanent clients and receive a fixed (and capped) periodic payment for each enrollee (i.e., per capita).
1 more example
Capitation started out as a popular method for reimbursing primary care physicians/gatekeepers. Now capitated contracts can be seen in every area of healthcare... ... because of varying volumes, not all specialty care providers should be capitated at the same time. For example, higher volume services (e.g., laboratory, radiology, orthopedics, and cardiology) are usually first to be capitated. Specialists and other medical services that are used infrequently (e.g., neonatologists, neurosurgeons) or "high ticket" specialists (e.g., open heart surgeons) are usually capitated last, if at all. The cost of their services is relatively high and a miscalculation in projected membership or actual utilization can have a large financial impact.
1996 The Capitation Sourcebook: a practical guide to managing at-risk arrangements ed. Peter Boland ISBN: 0-9652717-0-6 - IndiacountableeuphemisticuncountableA donation made to an educational institution to obtain admission.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA head tax.
Origin
- Latincapitātiōnem
- Englishcapitation
Learned borrowing from Latin capitātiōnem, from caput (“head”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish henkilömäärän laskeminen, luvun ottaminen
- henkilömäärän laskeminenperforming headcount
- luvun ottaminenperforming headcount
- kapitaatiosystem of remunerating health care providers
Indonesian kapitasi
- kapitasisystem of remunerating health care providers
Spanish conteo
- conteoperforming headcount
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
capitation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capitation
“capitation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capitation. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “capitation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capitation.
Source: capitation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.