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This page covers CA Medigap assignment. The Medicare system decides in advance how much money it pays for a health care expense. It is possible and common that the amount Medicare will pay for a certain expense is less than the actual cost. If the supplier or provider agrees to the amounts approved by the Medicare system they are said to accepting Medicare assignment. If the supplier or provider doesn't accept the approved amount as full payment then the covered individual may have to pay the difference. Assignment doesn't apply to Medicare part A it only relates to Part B expenses. People who do not have Medicare Part B are responsible for the full expenses of physician services and medical supplies. There is a monthly premium with Medicare Part B. There is also an annual deductible with Part B. On top of the deductible there is a 20% coinsurance amount that the covered person is responsible for. If the provider does not take assignment there will be further costs. When a provider takes assignment, they are taking the Medicare approved amount as full payment for the product or service. Medicare will then pay 80% of the approved amount. The insured individual is then responsible for the remaining 20%. Different Medicare Supplements handle these remaining expenses differently depending on the plan. The Medicare Supplement section of the site has further information on how the different Medicare Supplements work. If a doctor does not take assignment he or she can only charge a person up to 15% more than the Medicare approved amount. This is known as the limiting charge. For those doctors who do not accept assignment for all cases, the approved amount is reduced by 5%. When a supplier doesn't is not a limit on how much the supplier can charge for the supplies. In other words there is no limiting charge for supplies. Some services and supplies are not subject to the limiting charge. Certain providers, such as hospitals, must always accept assignment. We have helped Californians with their Medicare Supplement requirments for well over 20 years. We want to help you with your Medigap needs. Let us answer your Medicare questions. We can find the correct plan for you. If you have questions relating to Medicare then call us. We will get you all the information you need right now. One email or phone call to us can take the frustration and solve the problem. |