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This internet web page covers California Medicare assignment advice. Medicare decides in advance how much money it will pay for a health care cost. It is possible that the amount Medicare will pay for a certain expense is lower than the actual cost. If the provider or supplier agrees to the amounts approved by Medicare then they are said to accepting Medicare assignment. When a supplier or provider doesn't accept the approved amount as full payment then the covered person may have to pay the remainder. Assignment does not apply to Medicare part A it just applies to Part B expenses. People who do not have Medicare Part B have to pay for the full costs of medical supplies and physician services. 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 doesn't accept assignment then there will be more costs. When a provider accepts assignment, they are taking the Medicare approved amount as full payment for the product or service. Medicare then pays 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. See the section on Medicare Supplement for further information on how the different Medicare Supplements work. When a doctor does not take assignment he or she can only charge an individual up to 15% more than the Medicare approved amount. This 15% cap is known as the limiting charge. For doctors who do not accept assignment for all cases, the approved amount is reduced by 5%. When a supplier does not accept assignment in all cases there is no 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 assisted Californians with their Medicare Supplement requirments for well over 20 years. We want to assist you with your Medigap needs. Let us answer your Medicare questions. We can find the best coverage for you. Medicare is a complicated subject. There is an overwhelming amount of information out there about Medicare. Finding the information you want can be time consuming and tedious. Let us give you the information you need. |