Getting Your Doctor to Accept Assignment : Negotiating Fees
There may be reasons for not using a Medicare-participating doctor:
► You may not be able to find one in your area.
► You may have been getting genuinely good service from your family doctor, who for whatever reason does not participate.
► A specialist your family doctor refers you to may be the only one in town, or a good one, and may not participate.
While all are valid reasons, they do not have to apply to your situation. Remember, a doctor does not have to be “participating” to accept assignment. You can negotiate it with the doctor. And now is the time to negotiate. Medicine is a business. Doctors need customers these days, and that need will grow. And it is just good business—for both of you—to bargain, whether you are eligible for Medicare or not.
If you persuade your doctor to accept assignment in your case (the best outcome), the doctor is giving up the right to charge you more than 20 percent of the Medicare-approved price. Further, as mandated by law, he is required to handle the paperwork for Part
B claims—whether or not he is a participating physician. An obvious advantage is that beneficiaries are relieved from cumbersome paperwork associated with Medicare filings and claims.