I noticed that some of the bills we have recently received from Doctors are titled "Honorarrechnung" instead of Rechnung. I first thought it is because they have already directly sent the bill to the insurance, but it seems not the case and I have to pay them first like all other medical bills.
So does anyone know, what is, if any, the difference between an "Honorar" Rechnung and a normal one? Wikipedia is of not much help as it says Honorarium is about freelance work, totally irrelevant to my case
A Honorar is what you pay for a service delivered to fulfill a given task. Usually to academics like medical doctors, lawyers, architects, psychologists, but also artists if you task them with creating some specific painting or sculpture, physiotherapist, dog trainer, drive instructor, etc.
In some (perhaps a bit weird) sense it's comparable to a tip. Differences are, a Honorar is agreed upon in advance and a contractual obligation, whereas a tip is provided after the service and freely. In the US for instance, where 10-15% tip is assumed a "must", the situation is fairly close to a Honorar as that's know in advance and not really voluntary under normal conditions.