A physician who accepts assignment under Medicare agrees to:

Why A is correct

Assignment is the agreement by a provider to accept the Medicare-approved amount as full payment for a service. The provider bills Medicare and may collect only the beneficiary's applicable deductible and coinsurance. A participating provider accepts assignment for all Medicare services; a non-participating provider may decline assignment on some claims and then may balance-bill, subject to the limiting charge. This distinction is tested under the Medicare claims and payment objectives.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Balance billing above the approved amount beyond the permitted limits is exactly what assignment prevents; accepting assignment means taking the approved amount as full payment.
• C) Assignment applies to Original Medicare fee-for-service claims, not to provider contracts within Medicare Advantage networks.
• D) Assignment is a payment agreement, not a mechanism for waiving cost-sharing; that is handled by Medi-Cal or cost-sharing assistance programs.

Memory hook

Assignment = the provider takes Medicare's approved price as the whole bill, plus only your deductible and coinsurance.

Why B is correct

A provider who accepts Medicare assignment agrees to accept the Medicare-approved amount as full payment for covered services. The provider bills Medicare, Medicare pays its share, and the beneficiary pays only the remaining deductible and coinsurance. Participating providers accept assignment for all Medicare services. Non-participating providers may not accept assignment in every case and may bill the beneficiary up to a higher limiting charge, which is why beneficiaries are encouraged to use participating providers.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) Billing the beneficiary for the entire charge would violate assignment, which limits payment to the approved amount plus cost sharing.
• C) Assignment concerns the amount the provider accepts, not the beneficiary's deductible, which Medicare still collects.
• D) Providers accepting assignment are still paid by Medicare and collect cost sharing; they do not provide free care.

Memory hook

Assignment = the provider says 'I'll take Medicare's approved amount and nothing more.' No balance billing, no surprises.