What practice is an example of unethical billing in healthcare?

The correct choice highlights that all the listed practices are indeed examples of unethical billing in healthcare.

Phantom billing refers to the act of billing for services that were never actually provided to a patient. This practice is deceptive and results in financial losses for both patients and insurance providers. Upcoding involves billing for a more expensive service than what was actually rendered, which misrepresents the care provided and leads to inflated costs and potential fraud. Unbundling is the practice of separating a comprehensive service into individual components to increase reimbursement beyond what is ethically justified, effectively creating artificial charges that do not reflect the true nature of care given.

Recognizing that all these practices compromise the integrity of healthcare billing underscores the importance of ethical standards in healthcare administration. Ethical billing practices are essential to maintain trust between healthcare providers, patients, and insurance companies, and to ensure that billing accurately reflects the actual services delivered.