re assignment of benefits

Accessibility Report

[Enter personal and organization information through the Preferences > Identity dialog.]

The checker found no problems in this document.

Needs manual check: 2
Passed manually: 0
Failed manually: 0

Detailed Report

Type 2 Diabetes
Heart Disease
Digestive Health
Multiple Sclerosis
Diet & Nutrition
Supplements
Health Insurance
Public Health
Patient Rights
Caregivers & Loved Ones
End of Life Concerns
Health News
Thyroid Test Analyzer
Doctor Discussion Guides
Hemoglobin A1c Test Analyzer
Lipid Test Analyzer
Complete Blood Count (CBC) Analyzer
What to Buy
Editorial Process
Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Medicare Assignment: Everything You Need to Know

Medicare assignment.

Providers Accepting Assignment
Providers Who Do Not
Billing Options
Assignment of Benefits
How to Choose

Frequently Asked Questions

Medicare assignment is an agreement between Medicare and medical providers (doctors, hospitals, medical equipment suppliers, etc.) in which the provider agrees to accept Medicare’s fee schedule as payment in full when Medicare patients are treated.

This article will explain how Medicare assignment works, and what you need to know in order to ensure that you won’t receive unexpected bills.

fizkes / Getty Images

There are 35 million Americans who have Original Medicare. Medicare is a federal program and most medical providers throughout the country accept assignment with Medicare. As a result, these enrollees have a lot more options for medical providers than most of the rest of the population.

They can see any provider who accepts assignment, anywhere in the country. They can be assured that they will only have to pay their expected Medicare cost-sharing (deductible and coinsurance, some or all of which may be paid by a Medigap plan , Medicaid, or supplemental coverage provided by an employer or former employer).

It’s important to note here that the rules are different for the 29 million Americans who have Medicare Advantage plans. These beneficiaries cannot simply use any medical provider who accepts Medicare assignment.

Instead, each Medicare Advantage plan has its own network of providers —much like the health insurance plans that many Americans are accustomed to obtaining from employers or purchasing in the exchange/marketplace .

A provider who accepts assignment with Medicare may or may not be in-network with some or all of the Medicare Advantage plans that offer coverage in a given area. Some Medicare Advantage plans— health maintenance organizations (HMOs) , in particular—will only cover an enrollee’s claims if they use providers who are in the plan's network.

Other Medicare Advantage plans— preferred provider organizations (PPOs) , in particular—will cover out-of-network care but the enrollee will pay more than they would have paid had they seen an in-network provider.

Original Medicare

The bottom line is that Medicare assignment only determines provider accessibility and costs for people who have Original Medicare. People with Medicare Advantage need to understand their own plan’s provider network and coverage rules.

When discussing Medicare assignment and access to providers in this article, keep in mind that it is referring to people who have Original Medicare.

How to Make Sure Your Provider Accepts Assignment

Most doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers in the United States do accept Medicare assignment.

Provider Participation Stats

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 98% of providers participate in Medicare, which means they accept assignment.

You can ask the provider directly about their participation with Medicare. But Medicare also has a tool that you can use to find participating doctors, hospitals, home health care services, and other providers.

There’s a filter on that tool labeled “Medicare-approved payment.” If you turn on that filter, you will only see providers who accept Medicare assignment. Under each provider’s information, it will say “Charges the Medicare-approved amount (so you pay less out-of-pocket).”

What If Your Provider Doesn’t Accept Assignment?

If your medical provider or equipment supplier doesn’t accept assignment, it means they haven’t agreed to accept Medicare’s approved amounts as payment in full for all of the services.

These providers can still choose to accept assignment on a case-by-case basis. But because they haven’t agreed to accept Medicare assignment for all services, they are considered nonparticipating providers.

Note that "nonparticipating" does not mean that a provider has opted out of Medicare altogether. Medicare will still pay claims for services received from a nonparticipating provider (i.e., one who does not accept Medicare assignment), whereas Medicare does not cover any of the cost of services obtained from a provider who has officially opted out of Medicare.

If a Medicare beneficiary uses a provider who has opted out of Medicare, that person will pay the provider directly and Medicare will not be involved in any way.

Physicians Who Have Opted Out

Only about 1% of all non-pediatric physicians have opted out of Medicare.

For providers who have not opted out of Medicare but who also don’t accept assignment, Medicare will still pay nearly as much as it would have paid if you had used a provider who accepts assignment. Here’s how it works:

Medicare will pay the provider 95% of the amount they would pay if the provider accepted assignment.
The provider can charge the person receiving care more than the Medicare-approved amount, but only up to 15% more (some states limit this further). This extra amount, which the patient has to pay out-of-pocket, is known as the limiting charge . But the 15% cap does not apply to medical equipment suppliers; if they do not accept assignment with Medicare, there is no limit on how much they can charge the person receiving care. This is why it’s particularly important to make sure that the supplier accepts Medicare assignment if you need medical equipment.
The nonparticipating provider may require the person receiving care to pay the entire bill up front and seek reimbursement from Medicare (using Form CMS 1490-S ). Alternatively, they may submit a claim to Medicare on behalf of the person receiving care (using Form CMS-1500 ).
A nonparticipating provider can choose to accept assignment on a case-by-case basis. They can indicate this on Form CMS-1500 in box 27. The vast majority of nonparticipating providers who bill Medicare choose to accept assignment for the claim being billed.
Nonparticipating providers do not have to bill your Medigap plan on your behalf.

Billing Options for Providers Who Accept Medicare

When a medical provider accepts assignment with Medicare, part of the agreement is that they will submit bills to Medicare on behalf of the person receiving care. So if you only see providers who accept assignment, you will never need to submit your own bills to Medicare for reimbursement.

If you have a Medigap plan that supplements your Original Medicare coverage, you should present the Medigap coverage information to the provider at the time of service. Medicare will forward the claim information to your Medigap insurer, reducing administrative work on your part.

Depending on the Medigap plan you have, the services that you receive, and the amount you’ve already spent in out-of-pocket costs, the Medigap plan may pay some or all of the out-of-pocket costs that you would otherwise have after Medicare pays its share.

(Note that if you have a type of Medigap plan called Medicare SELECT, you will have to stay within the plan’s network of providers in order to receive benefits. But this is not the case with other Medigap plans.)

After the claim is processed, you’ll be able to see details in your MyMedicare.gov account . Medicare will also send you a Medicare Summary Notice. This is Medicare’s version of an explanation of benefits (EOB) , which is sent out every three months.

If you have a Medigap plan, it should also send you an EOB or something similar, explaining the claim and whether the policy paid any part of it.

What Is Medicare Assignment of Benefits?

For Medicare beneficiaries, assignment of benefits means that the person receiving care agrees to allow a nonparticipating provider to bill Medicare directly (as opposed to having the person receiving care pay the bill up front and seek reimbursement from Medicare). Assignment of benefits is authorized by the person receiving care in Box 13 of Form CMS-1500 .

If the person receiving care refuses to assign benefits, Medicare can only reimburse the person receiving care instead of paying the nonparticipating provider directly.

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Provider

If you’re enrolled in Original Medicare, you have a wide range of options in terms of the providers you can use—far more than most other Americans. In most cases, your preferred doctor and other medical providers will accept assignment with Medicare, keeping your out-of-pocket costs lower than they would otherwise be, and reducing administrative hassle.

There may be circumstances, however, when the best option is a nonparticipating provider or even a provider who has opted out of Medicare altogether. If you choose one of these options, be sure you discuss the details with the provider before proceeding with the treatment.

You’ll want to understand how much is going to be billed and whether the provider will bill Medicare on your behalf if you agree to assign benefits (note that this is not possible if the provider has opted out of Medicare).

If you have supplemental coverage, you’ll also want to check with that plan to see whether it will still pick up some of the cost and, if so, how much you should expect to pay out of your own pocket.

A medical provider who accepts Medicare assignment is considered a participating provider. These providers have agreed to accept Medicare’s fee schedule as payment in full for services they provide to Medicare beneficiaries. Most doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers do accept Medicare assignment.

Nonparticipating providers are those who have not signed an agreement with Medicare to accept Medicare’s rates as payment in full. However, they can agree to accept assignment on a case-by-case basis, as long as they haven’t opted out of Medicare altogether. If they do not accept assignment, they can bill the patient up to 15% more than the Medicare-approved rate.

Providers who opt out of Medicare cannot bill Medicare and Medicare will not pay them or reimburse beneficiaries for their services. But there is no limit on how much they can bill for their services.

A Word From Verywell

It’s in your best interest to choose a provider who accepts Medicare assignment. This will keep your costs as low as possible, streamline the billing and claims process, and ensure that your Medigap plan picks up its share of the costs.

If you feel like you need help navigating the provider options or seeking care from a provider who doesn’t accept assignment, the Medicare State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in your state may be able to help.

A doctor who does not accept Medicare assignment has not agreed to accept Medicare’s fee schedule as payment in full for their services. These doctors are considered nonparticipating with Medicare and can bill Medicare beneficiaries up to 15% more than the Medicare-approved amount.

They also have the option to accept assignment (i.e., accept Medicare’s rate as payment in full) on a case-by-case basis.

There are certain circumstances in which a provider is required by law to accept assignment. This includes situations in which the person receiving care has both Medicare and Medicaid. And it also applies to certain medical services, including lab tests, ambulance services, and drugs that are covered under Medicare Part B (as opposed to Part D).

In 2021, 98% of American physicians had participation agreements with Medicare, leaving only about 2% who did not accept assignment (either as a nonparticipating provider, or a provider who had opted out of Medicare altogether).

Accepting assignment is something that the medical provider does, whereas assignment of benefits is something that the patient (the Medicare beneficiary) does. To accept assignment means that the medical provider has agreed to accept Medicare’s approved fee as payment in full for services they provide.

Assignment of benefits means that the person receiving care agrees to allow a medical provider to bill Medicare directly, as opposed to having the person receiving care pay the provider and then seek reimbursement from Medicare.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare monthly enrollment .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Annual Medicare participation announcement .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Lower costs with assignment .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Find providers who have opted out of Medicare .

Kaiser Family Foundation. How many physicians have opted-out of the Medicare program ?

Center for Medicare Advocacy. Durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) updates .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Check the status of a claim .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare claims processing manual. Chapter 26 - completing and processing form CMS-1500 data set .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Ambulance fee schedule .

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Prescription drugs (outpatient) .

By Louise Norris Norris is a licensed health insurance agent, book author, and freelance writer. She graduated magna cum laude from Colorado State University.

For Therapists
Medical Billing Services

PECOS for dummies Part I: Reassigning Benefits

by Rocky Fenton

Are you a confused or burnt-out provider? Well just be burnt-out, because we are about to give you a step-by-step guide to reassigning your benefits through PECOS! Reassigning benefits means you can start seeing Medicare patients under a new organization, and in return be reimbursed something less dismal than most of your commercial payors fee schedules. And if you are still confused – feel free to reach out to our team and we will be more than happy to assist you!

Note: you can find all this information on the Noridian website and on YouTube. I provided both links below.

Enrollment: PECOS Reassignment of Benefits through Individual Provider

Source: https://med.noridianmedicare.com/

Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmwKposslao

Log in to PECOS
Select “My Associates”
On the “My associates” page select “View Enrollments”
Scroll to the “Existing Enrollments” section – Select “View/Manage Reassignments” – “Manage Reassignments”
Select “Add a new reassignment”
Answer if entity or individual receiving benefits is enrolled in Medicare (Yes typically)
“Additional Changes” dialogue box should show – select “no” unless changing other information
Select “Start Application”
Navigate to “Reassignment” topic – Click “Begin Submission”
“Filter Reassignment of Benefits” dialogue box should show – Select “Add Information”
Select whether benefits will be reassigned to “Individual” or “Organization” – Select “Next Page”
Effective Date of Information – ** cannot be more than 60 days in future from when application is received, or application will be returned
Legal business name – should match exactly as it appears on IRS documentation
Fill out remaining TIN and NPI information – Select “Next Page”
Enter Medicare ID number, including all preceding numbers and letters. If it is a new organization, enter “Pending” and select next page
“Reassignment Practice Location Choice” dialogue box should appear. Select what the primary (and secondary if necessary) practice location you intend the provider to practice. Enter the location address and continue
Verify the information and select “Next Topic”. Or if adding multiple reassignments to multiple TINs – Select “Add information” at the top and repeat the previous steps
“Contact Person” dialogue box should appear. Review and add any contacts. Select “Review Complete”
Check the “Error/Warning” tab and review anything that needs attention. Click “Begin Submission” when complete
Signature method – If provider is completing the application select “Electronic”. If someone is working on behalf of the provider – select “E-Sign” and instructions will be sent to the provider’s email that you enter on the following prompt. Select “Next Page”
The following page will require documentation uploaded. “Authorization Statements” will be E-Signed by the provider. Once this has been completed – select Complete Submission
Application status can be monitored from the My Enrollments Page
If the application is returned for correction
30 days are allotted for the corrections to be made
All signatures must be submitted for processing to begin on the application
Upload the required documents as a PDF or TIFF

Enrollment: PECOS Reassignment of Provider through Organizations Enrollment

Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rIn0NQRWc

Select “View Enrollments”
Select “View/Manage” Reassignments at the bottom of the dialogue box
Select “Manage Reassignments”
Select “Add reassignment of benefits where someone is reassigning benefits to the group or organization”
“Additional Changes” dialogue box should show – select “No, I only need to make Reassignment Updates” if you do not wish to make any other changes
Select “Start Application” and navigate to the “Reassignment” topic
“Filter Reassignment of Benefits dialogue box will show – select “Add Information”
“Accept Reassignment” dialogue box should show – fill out the requested information for who will be accepting reassignment
“Medicare Identification Numbers” dialogue box should show – enter Medicare Identification Number. If the organization has more than one ID – select “Add More” and fill out the remaining IDs
“Practice Location Address…” dialogue box should show – select the Primary location where services are rendered. This section can also be left blank
*Note – Multiple Reassignment additions can be made on one 855B enrollment, however it is recommended to limit this to 25 reassignments to be added or deleted to decrease processing time
“Contact Person” dialogue box should show – select “add information” and complete the main contact’s information and click “Save”
“Enrollment Submission” dialogue box should show – Review any warning / error checks if needed. Select “Begin Submission” on the “Error/Warning Check” tab
A Signature method prompt will appear – If the provider is signing off, select “Electronic” and select “Next Page”
If you are the provider and are E-Signing, review the terms and conditions at the bottom and check the “Yes” box. If you are not the provider, you can enter the providers email address and instructions will be sent to them for an E-signature.
Select the “Complete Submission” button.

Assignment of Benefits: What It Is, and How It Can Affect your Property Insurance Claim

Table of Contents

What is an Assignment of Benefits?

In the context of insured property claims, an assignment of benefits (AOB) is an agreement between you and a contractor in which you give the contractor your right to insurance payments for a specific scope of work . In exchange, the contractor agrees that it will not seek payment from you for that scope of work, except for the amount of any applicable deductible. In other words, you give part of your insurance claim to your contractor, and your contractor agrees not to collect from you for part of its work.

The most important thing to know about an assignment of benefits is that it puts your contractor in control your claim , at least for their scope of work. Losing that control can significantly affect the direction and outcome of your claim, so you should fully understand the implications of an AOB (sometimes called an assignment of claims or AOC) before signing one.

How Does an Assignment of Benefits Work in Practice?

Let’s say you’re an insured homeowner, and Hurricane Ian significantly damaged your roof. Let’s also assume your homeowner’s policy covers that damage. A roofer, after inspecting your roof and reviewing your insurance policy, might conclude that your insurer is probably going to pay for a roof replacement under your insurance policy. The only problem is that it’s early in the recovery process, and your insurer hasn’t yet stated whether it will pay for the roof replacement proposed by your contractor. So if you want your roof replaced now, you would ordinarily agree to pay your roofer for the replacement, and wait in hopes that your insurer reimburses you for the work. This means that if your insurance company refuses to pay or drags out payment, you’re on the hook to your roofer for the cost of the replacement.

As an alternative to agreeing to pay your roofer for the full cost of the work, you could sign an assignment of benefits for the roof replacement. In this scenario, your roofer owns the part of your insurance claim that pertains to the roof replacement. You might have to pay your roofer for the amount of your deductible, but you probably don’t have to pay them for the rest of the cost of the work. And if your insurance company refuses to pay or drags out payment for the roof replacement, it’s your roofer, and not you, who would be on the hook for that shortfall.

So should you sign an AOB? Not necessarily. Read below to understand the pros and cons of an assignment of benefits.

Are There any Downsides to Signing an Assignment of Benefits?

Yes.

You lose control of your claim . This is the most important factor to understand when considering whether to sign an AOB. An AOB is a formal assignment of your legal rights to payment under your insurance contract. Unless you’re able to cancel the AOB, your contractor will have full control over your claim as it relates to their work.

To explain why that control could matter, let’s go back to the roof replacement example. When you signed the AOB, the scope of work you agreed on was to replace the roof. But you’re not a roofing expert, so you don’t know whether the costs charged or the materials used by the roofer in its statement of work are industry appropriate or not. In most cases, they probably are appropriate, and there’s no problem. But if they’re not – if, for instance, the roofer’s prices are unreasonably high – then the insurer may not approve coverage for the replacement. At that point, the roofer could lower its prices so the insurer approves the work, but it doesn’t have to, because it controls the claim . Instead it could hold up work and threaten to sue your insurer unless it approves the work at the originally proposed price. Now the entire project is insnared in litigation, leaving you in a tough spot with your insurer for your other claims and, most importantly, with an old leaky roof.

Misunderstanding the Scope of Work. Another issue that can arise is that you don’t understand the scope of the assignment of benefits. Contractor estimates and scopes of work are often highly technical documents that can be long on detail but short on clarity. Contractors are experts at reading and writing them. You are not. That difference matters because the extent of your assignment of benefits is based on that technical, difficult-to-understand scope of work. This can lead to situations where your understanding of what you’re authorizing the contractor to do is very different from what you’ve actually authorized in the AOB agreement.

In many cases, it’s not necessary . Many contractors will work with you and your insurer to provide a detailed estimate of their work, and will not begin that work until your insurer has approved coverage for it. This arrangement significantly reduces the risk of you being on the hook for uninsured repairs, without creating any of the potential problems that can occur when you give away your rights to your claim.

Do I have to sign an Assignment of Benefits?

No. You are absolutely not required to sign an AOB if you do not want to.

Are There any Benefits to Signing an Assignment of Benefits?

Potentially, but only if you’ve fully vetted your contractor and your claim involves complicated and technical construction issues that you don’t want to deal with.

First, you must do your homework to fully vet your contractor! Do not just take their word for it or be duped by slick ads. Read reviews, understand their certificate of insurance, know where they’re located, and, if possible, ask for and talk to references. If you’ve determined that the contractor is highly competent at the work they do, is fully insured, and has a good reputation with customers, then that reduces the risk that they’ll abuse their rights to your claim.

Second, if your claim involves complicated reconstruction issues, a reputable contractor may be well equipped to handle the claim and move it forward. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of handling a complicated claim like this, and you know you have a good contractor, one way to get rid of that hassle is an AOB.

Another way to get rid of the hassle is to try Claimly, the all-in-one claims handling tool that get you results but keeps you in control of your claim.

Can my insurance policy restrict the use of AOBs?

Yes, it’s possible that your Florida insurance policy restricts the use of AOBs, but only if all of the following criteria are met:

When you selected your coverage, your insurer offered you a different policy with the same coverage, only it did not restrict the right to sign an AOB.
Your insurer made the restricted policy available at a lower cost than the unrestricted policy.
If the policy completely prohibits AOBs, then it was made available at a lower cost than any policy partially prohibiting AOBs.
The policy includes on its face the following notice in 18-point uppercase and boldfaced type:

THIS POLICY DOES NOT ALLOW THE UNRESTRICTED ASSIGNMENT OF POST-LOSS INSURANCE BENEFITS. BY SELECTING THIS POLICY, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO FREELY ASSIGN OR TRANSFER THE POST-LOSS PROPERTY INSURANCE BENEFITS AVAILABLE UNDER THIS POLICY TO A THIRD PARTY OR TO OTHERWISE FREELY ENTER INTO AN ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT AS THE TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION 627.7153 OF THE FLORIDA STATUTES.

627.7153.

Pro Tip : If you have an electronic copy of your complete insurance policy (not just the declaration page), then search for “policy does not allow the unrestricted assignment” or another phrase from the required language above to see if your policy restricts an AOB. If your policy doesn’t contain this required language, it probably doesn’t restrict AOBs.

Do I have any rights or protections concerning Assignments of Benefits?

Yes, you do. Florida recently enacted laws that protect consumers when dealing with an AOB.

Protections in the AOB Contract

To be enforceable, a Assignments of Benefits must meet all of the following requirements:

Be in writing and executed by and between you and the contractor.
Contain a provision that allows you to cancel the assignment agreement without a penalty or fee by submitting a written notice of cancellation signed by the you to the assignee:
at least 30 days after the date work on the property is scheduled to commence if the assignee has not substantially performed, or
at least 30 days after the execution of the agreement if the agreement does not contain a commencement date and the assignee has not begun substantial work on the property.
Contain a provision requiring the assignee to provide a copy of the executed assignment agreement to the insurer within 3 business days after the date on which the assignment agreement is executed or the date on which work begins, whichever is earlier.
Contain a written, itemized, per-unit cost estimate of the services to be performed by the assignee .
Relate only to work to be performed by the assignee for services to protect, repair, restore, or replace a dwelling or structure or to mitigate against further damage to such property.
Contain the following notice in 18-point uppercase and boldfaced type:

YOU ARE AGREEING TO GIVE UP CERTAIN RIGHTS YOU HAVE UNDER YOUR INSURANCE POLICY TO A THIRD PARTY, WHICH MAY RESULT IN LITIGATION AGAINST YOUR INSURER. PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS DOCUMENT BEFORE SIGNING IT. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT PENALTY WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE THIS AGREEMENT IS EXECUTED, AT LEAST 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE WORK ON THE PROPERTY IS SCHEDULED TO COMMENCE IF THE ASSIGNEE HAS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY PERFORMED, OR AT LEAST 30 DAYS AFTER THE EXECUTION OF THE AGREEMENT IF THE AGREEMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN A COMMENCEMENT DATE AND THE ASSIGNEE HAS NOT BEGUN SUBSTANTIAL WORK ON THE PROPERTY. HOWEVER, YOU ARE OBLIGATED FOR PAYMENT OF ANY CONTRACTED WORK PERFORMED BEFORE THE AGREEMENT IS RESCINDED. THIS AGREEMENT DOES NOT CHANGE YOUR OBLIGATION TO PERFORM THE DUTIES REQUIRED UNDER YOUR PROPERTY INSURANCE POLICY.

Contain a provision requiring the assignee to indemnify and hold harmless the assignor from all liabilities, damages, losses, and costs, including, but not limited to, attorney fees.

Contractor Duties

Under Florida law, a contractor (or anyone else) receiving rights to a claim under an AOB:

Must provide you with accurate and up-to-date revised estimates of the scope of work to be performed as supplemental or additional repairs are required.
Must perform the work in accordance with accepted industry standards.
May not seek payment from you exceeding the applicable deductible under the policy unless asked the contractor to perform additional work at the your own expense.
Must, as a condition precedent to filing suit under the policy, and, if required by the insurer, submit to examinations under oath and recorded statements conducted by the insurer or the insurer’s representative that are reasonably necessary, based on the scope of the work and the complexity of the claim, which examinations and recorded statements must be limited to matters related to the services provided, the cost of the services, and the assignment agreement.
Must, as a condition precedent to filing suit under the policy, and, if required by the insurer, participate in appraisal or other alternative dispute resolution methods in accordance with the terms of the policy.
If the contractor is making emergency repairs, the assignment of benefits cannot exceed the greater of $3,000 or 1% of your Coverage A limit.

What is an assignment of benefits?

Three people in an office talking over a pile of papers.

The last time you sought medical care, you likely made an appointment with your provider, got the treatment you needed, paid your copay or deductible, and that was it. No paperwork, no waiting to be reimbursed; your doctor received payment from your insurance company and you both went on with your lives.

This is how most people receive health care in the U.S. This system, known as assignment of benefits or AOB, is now being used with other types of insurance, including auto and homeowners coverage .

What is an assignment of benefits?

An AOB is a legal agreement that allows your insurance company to directly pay a third party for services performed on your behalf. In the case of health care, it could be your doctor or another medical professional providing care. With a homeowners, renters, or auto insurance claim, the third party could be a contractor, auto repair shop, or other facility.

Assignment of benefits is legal, thanks to a concept known as freedom of contract, which says two parties may make a private agreement, including the forfeiture of certain rights, and the government may not interfere. There are exceptions, making freedom of contract something less than an absolute right. For example, the contract may not violate the law or contain unfair terms.

Not all doctors or contractors utilize AOBs. Therefore, it’s a good idea to make sure the doctor or service provider and you are on the same page when it comes to AOBs before treatment or work begins.

How an AOB works

The function of an AOB agreement varies depending on the type of insurance policy involved, the healthcare provider, contractor, or service provider, and increasingly, state law. Although an AOB is normal in health insurance, other applications of assignment of benefits have now included the auto and homeowners insurance industry.

Because AOBs are common in health care, you probably don’t think twice about signing a piece of paper that says “assignment of benefits” across the top. But once you sign it, you’re likely turning over your right to deal with your insurance company regarding service from that provider. Why would you do this?

According to Dr. David Berg of Redirect Health , the reason is simple: “Without an AOB in place, the patient themselves would be responsible for paying the cost of their service and would then file a claim with their insurance company for reimbursement.”

With homeowners or auto insurance, the same rules apply. Once you sign the AOB, you are effectively out of the picture. The contractor who reroofs your house or the mechanic who rebuilds your engine works with your insurance company by filing a claim on your behalf and receiving their money without your help or involvement.

“Each state has its own rules, regulations, and permissions regarding AOBs,” says Gregg Barrett, founder and CEO of WaterStreet , a cloud-based P&C insurance administration platform. “Some states require a strict written breakdown of work to be done, while others allow assignment of only parts of claims.”

Within the guidelines of the specific insurance rules for AOBs in your state, the general steps include:

You and your contractor draw up an AOB clause as part of the contract.
The contract stipulates the exact work that will be completed and all necessary details.
The contractor sends the completed AOB to the insurance company where an adjuster reviews, asks questions, and resolves any discrepancies.
The contractor’s name (or that of an agreed-upon party) is listed to go on the settlement check.

After work is complete and signed off, the insurer will issue the check and the claim will be considered settled.

Example of an assignment of benefits

If you’re dealing with insurance, how would an AOB factor in? Let’s take an example. “Say you have a water leak in the house,” says Angel Conlin, chief insurance officer at Kin Insurance . “You call a home restoration company to stop the water flow, clean up the mess, and restore your home to its former glory. The restoration company may ask for an assignment of benefits so it can deal directly with the insurance company without your input.”

In this case, by eliminating the homeowner, whose interests are already represented by an experienced insurance adjustor, the AOB reduces redundancy, saves time and money, and allows the restoration process to proceed with much greater efficiency.

When would you need to use an assignment of benefits?

An AOB can simplify complicated and costly insurance transactions and allow you to turn these transactions over to trusted experts, thereby avoiding time-consuming negotiations.

An AOB also frees you from paying the entire bill upfront and seeking reimbursement from your insurance company after work has been completed or services rendered. Since you are not required to sign an assignment of benefits, failure to sign will result in you paying the entire medical bill and filing for reimbursement. The three most common uses of AOBs are with health insurance, car insurance, and homeowners insurance.

Assignment of benefits for health insurance

As discussed, AOBs in health insurance are commonplace. If you have health insurance, you’ve probably signed AOBs for years. Each provider (doctor) or practice requires a separate AOB. From your point of view, the big advantages of an AOB are that you receive medical care, your doctor and insurance company work out the details and, in the event of a disagreement, those two entities deal with each other.

Assignment of benefits for car owners

If your car is damaged in an accident and needs extensive repair, the benefits of an AOB can quickly add up. Not only will you have your automobile repaired with minimal upfront costs to you, inconvenience will be almost nonexistent. You drop your car off (or have it towed), wait to be called, told the repair is finished, and pick it up. Similar to a health care AOB, disagreements are worked out between the provider and insurer. You are usually not involved.

Assignment of benefits for homeowners

When your home or belongings are damaged or destroyed, your primary concern is to “return to normal.” You want to do this with the least amount of hassle. An AOB allows you to transfer your rights to a third party, usually a contractor, freeing you to deal with the crisis at hand.

When you sign an AOB, your contractor can begin immediately working on damage repair, shoring up against additional deterioration, and coordinating with various subcontractors without waiting for clearance or communication with you.

The fraud factor

No legal agreement, including an AOB, is free from the possibility of abuse or fraud. Built-in safeguards are essential to ensure the benefits you assign to a third party are as protected as possible.

In terms of what can and does go wrong, the answer is: plenty. According to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMICs), examples of AOB fraud include inflated invoices or charges for work that hasn’t been done. Another common tactic is to sue the insurance company, without the policyholder’s knowledge or consent, something that can ultimately result in the policyholder being stuck with the bill and higher insurance premiums due to losses experienced by the insurer.

State legislatures have tried to protect consumers from AOB fraud and some progress has been made. Florida, for example, passed legislation in 2019 that gives consumers the right to rescind a fraudulent contract and requires that AOB contracts include an itemized description of the work to be done. Other states, including North Dakota, Kansas, and Iowa have all signed NAMIC-backed legislation into law to protect consumers from AOB fraud.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), offers advice for consumers to help avoid AOB fraud and abuse:

File a claim with your insurer before you hire a contractor. This ensures you know what repairs need to be made.
Don’t pay in full upfront. Legitimate contractors do not require it.
Get three estimates before selecting a contractor.
Get a full written contract and read it carefully before signing.
Don’t be pressured into signing an AOB. You are not required to sign an AOB.

Pros and cons of an assignment of benefits

The advantages and disadvantages of an AOB agreement depend largely on the amount and type of protection your state’s insurance laws provide.

Pros of assignment of benefits

With proper safeguards in place to reduce opportunities for fraud, AOBs have the ability to streamline and simplify the insurance claims process.

An AOB frees you from paying for services and waiting for reimbursement from your insurer.
Some people appreciate not needing to negotiate with their insurer.
You are not required to sign an AOB.

Cons of assignment of benefits

As with most contracts, AOBs are a double-edged sword. Be aware of potential traps and ask questions if you are unsure.

Signing an AOB could make you the victim of a scam without knowing it until your insurer refuses to pay.
An AOB doesn’t free you from the ultimate responsibility to pay for services rendered, which could drag you into expensive litigation if things go south.
Any AOB you do sign is legally binding.

The takeaway

An AOB, as the health insurance example shows, can simplify complicated and costly insurance transactions and help consumers avoid time-consuming negotiations. And it can save upfront costs while letting experts work out the details.

It can also introduce a nightmare scenario laced with fraud requiring years of costly litigation. Universal state-level legislation with safeguards is required to avoid the latter. Until that is in place, your best bet is to work closely with your insurer when signing an AOB. Look for suspicious or inflated charges when negotiating with contractors, providers, and other servicers.

EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE : The advice, opinions, or rankings contained in this article are solely those of the Fortune Recommends ™ editorial team. This content has not been reviewed or endorsed by any of our affiliate partners or other third parties.

Today’s News Briefs
Medical News
Patients News
Medicine & Policy
Medicine & Business
Medicine & Technology

Medicare’s reassignment of payment rules

By Michael R. Burke, Esq.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has numerous rules and regulations that govern the manner in which physicians and other health care providers are paid for their services by Medicare. This article will focus on what are commonly known as Medicare’s “reassignment rules,” which govern the right of an individual or entity to receive payment for services rendered by a health care provider on behalf of the individual and/or entity. Please note that Medicare’s reassignment rules do not apply to private third party payors such as Independence Blue Cross or Aetna; while these payors may follow Medicare’s rules on this topic, they are not bound to do so and may have their own unique policies for dealing with these issues.

A Medicare beneficiary has the right to assign the payment to be made by Medicare for services provided to him or her to the health care provider that provides such services. However, the Social Security Act also provides that Medicare does not pay any amounts that are due to a health care provider under an assignment from a beneficiary to any other person under reassignment, power of attorney or any other direct arrangement unless it meets one of the exceptions permitted by statute or regulation or included in one of the manuals published by CMS; this is commonly referred to as Medicare’s prohibition against reassignment of payment. The most extensive discussion of Medicare’s rules on the reassignment of payment from a physician to another individual or entity are found in the CMS Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Manual), Chapter 1, Sections 30.2 to Sections 30.2.16.

The most common exception to the basic prohibition on reassignment that is utilized by physicians is the exception that permits Medicare to pay the employer of a physician if the physician is required as a condition of his or her employment to turn over to his or her employer the fees for his or her services. There must be an employer-employee relationship between the physician and the individual or entity hiring the physician to perform services, and the terms of employment must provide that the employer has the right to receive the payment for the employee’s services within the scope of employment.

A Medicare carrier may also make payment under the reassignment rule exception that permits an individual or entity to submit a claim for services provided by a physician under a contractual arrangement with the entity, such as an independent contractor. These services may be furnished on or off the premises of the individual or entity submitting the bill and receiving the payment; this provision was changed several years ago as prior Medicare rules on this subject allowed an individual or entity to bill for the services of an independent contractor only when they provided services on the premises of the billing entity. The individual or entity receiving payment and the physician independent contractor that furnished the service are also subject to the following CMS program integrity safeguard requirements: (i) the individual or entity receiving payment and the person that furnished the service are jointly and severally responsible for any Medicare overpayment to that entity; and (ii) the independent contractor physician furnishing the service must have unrestricted access to claims submitted by the individual or entity for services provided by that person. While the initial iteration of this Manual provision required the preceding two provisions to be included in any physician independent contractor agreement, those provisions were changed and these provisions do not have to be expressly set forth in an agreement between the billing entity and the independent contractor.

The Manual also includes reassignment rule exceptions related to reciprocal billing arrangements and locum tenens arrangements. The requirements for these exceptions are almost identical, with the “reciprocal billing” arrangements exception being intended for a longer running arrangement and the locum tenens arrangements exception being designed for a short term absence (such as vacation, absence due to illness, etc.). The reassignment exceptions for these arrangements allow a patient’s regular physician to submit a claim and receive payment from Medicare in the physician’s name for covered visit services which the regular physician arranges to be provided by a substitute physician if: the regular physician is unavailable to provide the visit services; the Medicare patient has arranged or seeks to receive the visit services from the regular physician; the substitute physician does not provide the visit services to Medicare patients over a continuous period of longer than 60 days; and the regular physician identifies the services by using the proper modifier after the procedure code when billing the claim. An additional requirement applicable to locum tenens arrangements is that the regular physician pays the substitute physician on a per diem or similar fee-for-time basis. CMS notes that for locum tenens arrangements, the term “regular physician” includes a physician who has left a physician group and for whom the group has engaged the locum tenens physician as a replacement.

CMS also allows Medicare carriers to make payments in the name of a provider directly to an agent who furnishes billing or collection services under certain limited circumstances. However, two of the key requirements in this regard are that the agent’s compensation is not related in any way to the dollar amount billed or collected and the agent’s compensation is not dependent upon the actual collection of payments. Since most physicians who use billing companies pay them a fee based on a percentage of collections or the amount collected, this reassignment exception is not often utilized. In most billing arrangements, then, claims to Medicare are submitted in the name of the physician or group providing the service and payments received are paid directly to the group or physician in question.

There are other exceptions to the reassignment rule that are used less often, including payment by Medicare to a governmental agency where payment to the governmental agency or entity is permissible under one of the other listed reassignment exceptions above (e.g., employment); payments made directly to a bank; payment pursuant to court order; payments to university-affiliated medical faculty practice plans; and payments to health care pre-payment plans, cost-contracting HMOs, competitive medical plans and Medicare+Choice organizations.

CMS also allows payments to be made under exceptions to the reassignment rule for purchased diagnostic tests and for purchased diagnostic test interpretations. When an individual or entity wants to purchase the technical component of a diagnostic test, the following requirements apply: the purchasing physician or group may be the same physician or group as ordered the test or may be a different physician or group; the purchasing physician or group may not markup the charge for a test from the purchase price and it must accept the lowest of the fee schedule amount for such service, the physician’s actual charge or the supplier’s net charge to the purchasing physician or group. The purchaser must perform the interpretation on the diagnostic test; and the physician or supplier that furnished the technical component must be enrolled in the Medicare program.

In addition, the person or supplier that provides the technical component of diagnostic tests may submit the claim and receive payment for the professional component of diagnostic tests which that person or entity purchases from an independent physician or medical group if: the tests are initiated by a physician or medical group which is independent of the person or entity providing the tests and the physician or group providing the interpretation; the physician or medical group providing the interpretation does not see the patient; the interpreting physician must be enrolled in the Medicare program; and the purchaser must perform the technical component of the test. Many physicians and physician groups do not utilize this exception because they are unable to meet the requirements set forth above, and then simply instead satisfy the reassignment exception for independent contractor relationships.

Regulations implemented in the final 2008 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (for the most part scheduled to be effective on January 1, 2009, but already effective for clinical laboratory tests) and proposed revisions to such regulations included in the recently issued proposed 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule have proposed special payment rules which limit the amount of payment to a physician or group for the purchase of either the technical and professional components of diagnostic tests and which would, among other things, create limitations on where diagnostic tests may be performed, implement limitations on the calculation of the “net charge” of the supplier for purposes of purchased technical components, and restrict the amounts that may be billed for the professional component of diagnostic tests in certain circumstances. While an analysis of these rules is beyond the scope of this article (and they are likely to be substantially revised before they are finalized towards the end of 2009), physicians must be aware of the existing and proposed rules related to the prohibition on marking up the costs of diagnostic tests.

The penalties for failure to follow the reassignment rules set forth in the Manual include termination of a provider’s Medicare participation agreement or revoking the right of a provider to receive assigned payment from Medicare for physician services. In addition, Medicare law provides that any person who accepts assignment of benefits under Medicare and who “knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly” violates its Medicare assignment agreement shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not more than $2,000, imprisonment of not more than six months, or both.

Medicare’s rules on reassignment of payment are another set of hurdles that must be overcome by physicians and physician groups in attempting to ensure that they are paid correctly in the Medicare program. While many of these rules have changed little over time, the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule solicited comments as to whether, in lieu of the anti-markup provisions discussed above, CMS should prohibit reassignment in certain situations and require physicians supervising the technical component of diagnostic tests or performing the professional component of a diagnostic test to bill Medicare directly. As such, the reassignment rules related to diagnostic tests may be the subject of further important changes in the near future.

Michael R. Burke, Esq., is a shareholder with the health care law firm of Kalogredis, Sansweet, Dearden and Burke, Ltd. located in Wayne, Pa.

How Much of Trump’s Health Agenda Has Biden Undone?

President Joe Biden or his officials were quick to reverse many of the health policies Donald Trump implemented.

I’m a political scientist, and the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling turned me into a reproductive-rights refugee

While the decision clearly imperiled the future of IVF in Alabama, it was not clear to us whether we would...

Michael, Thank you for this article, This was very informative it helped me to understand some key aspects. As I deal with a web site of medical laboratory billing services and DNA billing, pathology billing, toxicology billing, and molecular testing lab billing services. We handle a website regarding this aspect in which we keep a track record of our content dating back to the previous year and make strategies to improve them. However, this article was much needed for our team and it will be something that I will be keen to review.

Morning Reports

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 May 7, 2024
Monday, May 6, 2024 May 6, 2024
Friday, May 3, 2024 May 3, 2024
Thursday, May 2, 2024 May 2, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 May 1, 2024

Hearing Aids Can Be Frustrating, but Necessary, for Older Adults

Navigate Site

Welcome back.

Remember Me

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Today's news
Reviews and deals
Climate change
2024 election
Fall allergies
Health news
Mental health
Sexual health
Family health
So mini ways
Unapologetically
Buying guides

Entertainment

How to Watch
My Portfolio
Latest News
Stock Market
Premium News
Biden Economy
EV Deep Dive
Stocks: Most Actives
Stocks: Gainers
Stocks: Losers
Trending Tickers
World Indices
US Treasury Bonds
Top Mutual Funds
Highest Open Interest
Highest Implied Volatility
Stock Comparison
Advanced Charts
Currency Converter
Basic Materials
Communication Services
Consumer Cyclical
Consumer Defensive
Financial Services
Industrials
Real Estate
Mutual Funds
Credit cards
Balance Transfer Cards
Cash-back Cards
Rewards Cards
Travel Cards
Personal Loans
Student Loans
Car Insurance
Morning Brief
Market Domination
Market Domination Overtime
Opening Bid
Stocks in Translation
Lead This Way
Good Buy or Goodbye?
Fantasy football
Pro Pick 'Em
College Pick 'Em
Fantasy baseball
Fantasy hockey
Fantasy basketball
Download the app
Daily fantasy
Scores and schedules
GameChannel
World Baseball Classic
Premier League
CONCACAF League
Champions League
Motorsports
Horse racing
Newsletters

New on Yahoo

Privacy Dashboard

Yahoo Finance

What is an assignment of benefits.

This is how most people receive health care in the U.S. This system, known as assignment of benefits or AOB, is now being used with other types of insurance, including auto and homeowners coverage .

How an AOB works

Because AOBs are common in health care, you probably don’t think twice about signing a piece of paper that says "assignment of benefits" across the top. But once you sign it, you’re likely turning over your right to deal with your insurance company regarding service from that provider. Why would you do this?

According to Dr. David Berg of Redirect Health, the reason is simple: “Without an AOB in place, the patient themselves would be responsible for paying the cost of their service and would then file a claim with their insurance company for reimbursement.”

Within the guidelines of the specific insurance rules for AOBs in your state, the general steps include:

You and your contractor draw up an AOB clause as part of the contract.

The contract stipulates the exact work that will be completed and all necessary details.

The contractor sends the completed AOB to the insurance company where an adjuster reviews, asks questions, and resolves any discrepancies.

The contractor’s name (or that of an agreed-upon party) is listed to go on the settlement check.

After work is complete and signed off, the insurer will issue the check and the claim will be considered settled.

Example of an assignment of benefits

When would you need to use an assignment of benefits?

An AOB can simplify complicated and costly insurance transactions and allow you to turn these transactions over to trusted experts, thereby avoiding time-consuming negotiations.

Assignment of benefits for health insurance

Assignment of benefits for car owners

Assignment of benefits for homeowners

The fraud factor

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), offers advice for consumers to help avoid AOB fraud and abuse:

File a claim with your insurer before you hire a contractor. This ensures you know what repairs need to be made.

Don’t pay in full upfront. Legitimate contractors do not require it.

Get three estimates before selecting a contractor.

Get a full written contract and read it carefully before signing.

Don’t be pressured into signing an AOB. You are not required to sign an AOB.

Pros and cons of an assignment of benefits

The advantages and disadvantages of an AOB agreement depend largely on the amount and type of protection your state’s insurance laws provide.

Pros of assignment of benefits

With proper safeguards in place to reduce opportunities for fraud, AOBs have the ability to streamline and simplify the insurance claims process.

An AOB frees you from paying for services and waiting for reimbursement from your insurer.

Some people appreciate not needing to negotiate with their insurer.

You are not required to sign an AOB.

Cons of assignment of benefits

As with most contracts, AOBs are a double-edged sword. Be aware of potential traps and ask questions if you are unsure.

Signing an AOB could make you the victim of a scam without knowing it until your insurer refuses to pay.

An AOB doesn’t free you from the ultimate responsibility to pay for services rendered, which could drag you into expensive litigation if things go south.

Any AOB you do sign is legally binding.

The takeaway

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Search NAIC

Recommended.

Back to Newsroom

Consumer Insight

Sept. 13, 2023

Assignment of Benefits: Consumer Beware

You've just survived a severe storm, or a tornado and you've experienced some extensive damage to your home that requires repairs, including the roof. Your contractor is now asking for your permission to speak with your insurance company using an Assignment of Benefits. Before you sign, read the fine print. Otherwise, you may inadvertently sign over your benefits and any extra money you’re owed as part of your claim settlement.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offers information to help you better understand insurance, your risk and what to do in the event you need repairs after significant storm damage.

Be cautious about signing an Assignment of Benefits. An Assignment of Benefits, or an AOB, is an agreement signed by a policyholder that allows a third party—such as a water extraction company, a roofer or a plumber—to act on behalf of the insured and seek direct payment from the insurance company. An AOB can be a useful tool for getting repairs done, as it allows the repair company to deal directly with your insurance company when negotiating repairs and issuing payment directly to the repair company. However, an AOB is a legal contract, so you need to understand what rights you are signing away and you need to be sure the repair company is trustworthy.

With an Assignment of Benefits, the third party, like a roofing company or plumber, files your claim, makes the repair decision and collects insurance payments without your involvement.
Once you have signed an AOB, the insurer only communicates with the third party and the other party can sue your insurer and you can lose your right to mediation.
It's possible the third party may demand a higher claim payment than the insurer offers and then sue the insurer when it denies your claim.
You are not required to sign an AOB to have repairs completed. You can file a claim directly with your insurance company, which allows you to maintain control of the rights and benefits provided by your policy in resolving the claim.

Be on alert for fraud. Home repair fraud is common after a natural disaster. Contractors often come into disaster-struck regions looking to make quick money by taking advantage of victims.

It is a good idea to do business with local or trusted companies. Ask friends and family for references.
Your insurer may also have recommendations or a list of preferred contractors.
Always get more than one bid on work projects. Your adjuster may want to review estimates before you make repairs.

Immediately after the disaster, have an accurate account of the damage for your insurance company when you file a claim.

Before removing any debris or belongings, document all losses.
Take photos or video and make a list of the damages and lost items.
Save damaged items if possible so your insurer can inspect them, some insurance companies may have this as a requirement in their policy.

Most insurance companies have a time requirement for reporting a claim, so contact your agent or company as soon as possible. Your state insurance department can help you find contact information for your insurance company, if you cannot find it.

Insurance company officials can help you determine what damages are covered, start your claim and even issue a check to start the recovery process.
When reporting losses, you will need insurance information, current contact information and a home inventory or list of damaged and lost property . If you do not have a list, the adjuster will give you some time to make one. Ask the adjuster how much time you have to submit this inventory list. The NAIC Post Disaster Claims Guide has details on what you can do if you do not have a home inventory list.

After you report damage to your insurance company, they will send a claims adjuster to assess the damage at no cost to you . An adjuster from your insurance company will walk through and around your home to inspect damaged items and temporary repairs you may have made.

A public adjuster is different from an adjuster from your insurance company and has no ties to the insurance company.
They estimate the damage to your home and property, review your insurance coverage, and negotiate a settlement of the insurance claim for you.
Many states require public adjusters to be licensed. Some states prohibit public adjusters from negotiating insurance claims for you. In those states, only a licensed attorney can represent you.
You have to pay a public adjuster.
The NAIC Post Disaster Claims Guide has information on the different types of adjusters.

Once the adjuster has completed an assessment, they will provide documentation of the loss to your insurer to determine your claims settlement. When it comes to getting paid, you may receive more than one check. If the damage is severe or you are displaced from your home, the first check may be an emergency advance. Other payments may be for the contents of your home, other personal property, and structural damages. Please note that if there is a mortgage on your home, the payment for structural damage may be payable to you and your mortgage lender. Lenders may put that money into an escrow account and pay for repairs as the work is completed.

More information. States have rules governing how insurance companies handle claims. If you think that your insurer is not responding in a timely manner or completing a reasonable investigation of your claim, contact your state insurance department .

About the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. NAIC staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally.

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services

Reassignment of Benefits

Guidance forProcessing the CMS-855R Medicare Enrollment Application - Reassignment of Benefits.

Download the Guidance Document

Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Issue Date: January 01, 2020

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance Notices) or as specifically incorporated into a contract. The Department may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted on the guidance repository, except to establish historical facts.

Construction Accidents

Practice Areas

Assignment of benefits: what you need to know.

August 17, 2022
Steven Schwartzapfel

Insurance can be useful, but dealing with the back-and-forth between insurance companies and contractors, medical specialists, and others can be a time-consuming and ultimately unpleasant experience. You want your medical bills to be paid without having to act as a middleman between your healthcare provider and your insurer.

However, there’s a way you can streamline this process. With an assignment of benefits, you can designate your healthcare provider or any other insurance payout recipient as the go-to party for insurance claims. While this can be convenient, there are certain risks to keep in mind as well.

Below, we’ll explore what an assignment of insurance benefits is (as well as other forms of remediation), how it works, and when you should employ it. For more information, or to learn whether you may have a claim against an insurer, contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers now at 1-516-342-2200 .

What Is an Assignment of Benefits?

An assignment of benefits (AOB) is a legal process through which an insured individual or party signs paperwork that designates another party like a contractor, company, or healthcare provider as their insurance claimant .

Suppose you’re injured in a car accident and need to file a claim with your health insurance company for medical bills and related costs. However, you also need plenty of time to recover. The thought of constantly negotiating between your insurance company, your healthcare provider, and anyone else seems draining and unwelcome.

With an assignment of benefits, you can designate your healthcare provider as your insurance claimant. Then, your healthcare provider can request insurance payouts from your healthcare insurance provider directly.

Through this system, the health insurance provider directly pays your physician or hospital rather than paying you. This means you don’t have to pay your healthcare provider. It’s a streamlined, straightforward way to make sure insurance money gets where it needs to go. It also saves you time and prevents you from having to think about insurance payments unless absolutely necessary.

What Does an Assignment of Benefits Mean?

An AOB means that you designate another party as your insurance claimant. In the above example, that’s your healthcare provider, which could be a physician, hospital, or other organization.

With the assignment of insurance coverage, that healthcare provider can then make a claim for insurance payments directly to your insurance company. The insurance company then pays your healthcare provider directly, and you’re removed as the middleman.

As a bonus, this system sometimes cuts down on your overall costs by eliminating certain service fees. Since there’s only one transaction — the transaction between your healthcare provider and your health insurer — there’s only one set of service fees to contend with. You don’t have to deal with two sets of service fees from first receiving money from your insurance provider, then sending that money to your healthcare provider.

Ultimately, the point of an assignment of benefits is to make things easier for you, your insurer, and anyone else involved in the process.

What Types of Insurance Qualify for an Assignment of Benefits?

Most types of commonly held insurance can work with an assignment of benefits. These insurance types include car insurance, healthcare insurance, homeowners insurance, property insurance, and more.

Note that not all insurance companies allow you to use an assignment of benefits. For an assignment of benefits to work, the potential insurance claimant and the insurance company in question must each sign the paperwork and agree to the arrangement. This prevents fraud (to some extent) and ensures that every party goes into the arrangement with clear expectations.

If your insurance company does not accept assignments of benefits, you’ll have to take care of insurance payments the traditional way. There are many reasons why an insurance company may not accept an assignment of benefits.

To speak with a Schwartzapfel Lawyers expert about this directly, call 1-516-342-2200 for a free consultation today. It will be our privilege to assist you with all your legal questions, needs, and recovery efforts.

Who Uses Assignments of Benefits?

Many providers, services, and contractors use assignments of benefits. It’s often in their interests to accept an assignment of benefits since they can get paid for their work more quickly and make critical decisions without having to consult the insurance policyholder first.

Imagine a circumstance in which a homeowner wants a contractor to add a new room to their property. The contractor knows that the scale of the project could increase or shrink depending on the specifics of the job, the weather, and other factors.

If the homeowner uses an assignment of benefits to give the contractor rights to make insurance claims for the project, that contractor can then:

Bill the insurer directly for their work. This is beneficial since it ensures that the contractor’s employees get paid promptly and they can purchase the supplies they need.
Make important decisions to ensure that the project completes on time. For example, a contract can authorize another insurance claim for extra supplies without consulting with the homeowner beforehand, saving time and potentially money in the process.

Practically any company or organization that receives payments from insurance companies may choose to take advantage of an assignment of benefits with you. Example companies and providers include:

Ambulance services
Drug and biological companies
Lab diagnostic services
Hospitals and medical centers like clinics
Certified medical professionals such as nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, clinical psychologists, and others
Ambulatory surgical center services
Permanent repair and improvement contractors like carpenters, plumbers, roofers, restoration companies, and others
Auto repair shops and mechanic organizations

Advantages of Using an Assignment of Benefits

An assignment of benefits can be an advantageous contract to employ, especially if you believe that you’ll need to pay a contractor, healthcare provider, and/or other organization via insurance payouts regularly for the near future.

These benefits include but are not limited to:

Save time for yourself. Again, imagine a circumstance in which you are hospitalized and have to pay your healthcare provider through your health insurance payouts. If you use an assignment of benefits, you don’t have to make the payments personally or oversee the insurance payouts. Instead, you can focus on resting and recovering.
Possibly save yourself money in the long run. As noted above, an assignment of benefits can help you circumvent some service fees by limiting the number of transactions or money transfers required to ensure everyone is paid on time.
Increased peace of mind. Many people don’t like having to constantly think about insurance payouts, contacting their insurance company, or negotiating between insurers and contractors/providers. With an assignment of benefits, you can let your insurance company and a contractor or provider work things out between them, though this can lead to applications later down the road.

Because of these benefits, many recovering individuals, car accident victims, homeowners, and others utilize AOB agreements from time to time.

Risks of Using an Assignment of Benefits

Worth mentioning, too, is that an assignment of benefits does carry certain risks you should be aware of before presenting this contract to your insurance company or a contractor or provider. Remember, an assignment of benefits is a legally binding contract unless it is otherwise dissolved (which is technically possible).

The risks of using an assignment of benefits include:

You give billing control to your healthcare provider, contractor, or another party. This allows them to bill your insurance company for charges that you might not find necessary. For example, a home improvement contractor might bill a homeowner’s insurance company for an unnecessary material or improvement. The homeowner only finds out after the fact and after all the money has been paid, resulting in a higher premium for their insurance policy or more fees than they expected.
You allow a contractor or service provider to sue your insurance company if the insurer does not want to pay for a certain service or bill. This can happen if the insurance company and contractor or service provider disagree on one or another billable item. Then, you may be dragged into litigation or arbitration you did not agree to in the first place.
You may lose track of what your insurance company pays for various services . As such, you could be surprised if your health insurance or other insurance premiums and deductibles increase suddenly.

Given these disadvantages, it’s still wise to keep track of insurance payments even if you choose to use an assignment of benefits. For example, you might request that your insurance company keep you up to date on all billable items a contractor or service provider charges for the duration of your treatment or project.

For more on this and related topic, call Schwartzapfel Lawyers now at 1-516-342-2200 .

How To Make Sure an Assignment of Benefits Is Safe

Even though AOBs do carry potential disadvantages, there are ways to make sure that your chosen contract is safe and legally airtight. First, it’s generally a wise idea to contact knowledgeable legal representatives so they can look over your paperwork and ensure that any given assignment of benefits doesn’t contain any loopholes that could be exploited by a service provider or contractor.

The right lawyer can also make sure that an assignment of benefits is legally binding for your insurance provider. To make sure an assignment of benefits is safe, you should perform the following steps:

Always check for reviews and references before hiring a contractor or service provider, especially if you plan to use an AOB ahead of time. For example, you should stay away if a contractor has a reputation for abusing insurance claims.
Always get several estimates for work, repairs, or bills. Then, you can compare the estimated bills and see whether one contractor or service provider is likely to be honest about their charges.
Get all estimates, payment schedules, and project schedules in writing so you can refer back to them later on.
Don’t let a service provider or contractor pressure you into hiring them for any reason . If they seem overly excited about getting started, they could be trying to rush things along or get you to sign an AOB so that they can start issuing charges to your insurance company.
Read your assignment of benefits contract fully. Make sure that there aren’t any legal loopholes that a contractor or service provider can take advantage of. An experienced lawyer can help you draft and sign a beneficial AOB contract.

Can You Sue a Party for Abusing an Assignment of Benefits?

Sometimes. If you believe your assignment of benefits is being abused by a contractor or service provider, you may be able to sue them for breaching your contract or even AOB fraud. However, successfully suing for insurance fraud of any kind is often difficult.

Also, you should remember that a contractor or service provider can sue your insurance company if the insurance carrier decides not to pay them. For example, if your insurer decides that a service provider is engaging in billing scams and no longer wishes to make payouts, this could put you in legal hot water.

If you’re not sure whether you have grounds for a lawsuit, contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers today at 1-516-342-2200 . At no charge, we’ll examine the details of your case and provide you with a consultation. Don’t wait. Call now!

Assignment of Benefits FAQs

Which states allow assignments of benefits.

Every state allows you to offer an assignment of benefits to a contractor and/or insurance company. That means, whether you live in New York, Florida, Arizona, California, or some other state, you can rest assured that AOBs are viable tools to streamline the insurance payout process.

Can You Revoke an Assignment of Benefits?

Yes. There may come a time when you need to revoke an assignment of benefits. This may be because you no longer want the provider or contractor to have control over your insurance claims, or because you want to switch providers/contractors.

To revoke an assignment of benefits agreement, you must notify the assignee (i.e., the new insurance claimant). A legally solid assignment of benefits contract should also include terms and rules for this decision. Once more, it’s usually a wise idea to have an experienced lawyer look over an assignment of benefits contract to make sure you don’t miss these by accident.

Contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers Today

An assignment of benefits is an invaluable tool when you need to streamline the insurance claims process. For example, you can designate your healthcare provider as your primary claimant with an assignment of benefits, allowing them to charge your insurance company directly for healthcare costs.

However, there are also risks associated with an assignment of benefits. If you believe a contractor or healthcare provider is charging your insurance company unfairly, you may need legal representatives. Schwartzapfel Lawyers can help.

As knowledgeable New York attorneys who are well-versed in New York insurance law, we’re ready to assist with any and all litigation needs. For a free case evaluation and consultation, contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers today at 1-516-342-2200 !

Schwartzapfel Lawyers, P.C. | Fighting For You™™

What Is an Insurance Claim? | Experian

What is assignment of benefits, and how does it impact insurers? | Insurance Business Mag

Florida Insurance Ruling Sets Precedent for Assignment of Benefits | Law.com

Subcontractor liability insurance.

Construction sites are dangerous places to work, which is why there are so many rules and regulations in place to

How To Win A Left-Turn Accident

New York City intersections are known for constant surges of activity, with cars trying to get through and people trying

What Does A Personal Injury Lawyer Do?

Injuries can lead to medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and beyond. Why should you or a loved

We'll Fight For You

Schwartzapfel® lawyers has a 99% client satisfaction rate, quick links.

News & Events
Verdicts & Settlements
Video Gallery
Wrongful Death
Vehicle Accidents
Slip & Fall
Medical Malpractice
Workers' Compensation
Personal Injuries
Product Liability
Garden City

Assignment of benefits

Assignment of benefits is a legal agreement where a patient authorizes their healthcare provider to receive direct payment from the insurance company for services rendered.

Boost patient experience and your bottom line by automating patient cost estimates, payer underpayment detection, and contract optimization in one place.

What is Assignment of Benefits?

Assignment of benefits (AOB) is a crucial concept in the healthcare revenue cycle management (RCM) process. It refers to the legal transfer of the patient's rights to receive insurance benefits directly to the healthcare provider. In simpler terms, it allows healthcare providers to receive payment directly from the insurance company, rather than the patient being responsible for paying the provider and then seeking reimbursement from their insurance company.

Understanding Assignment of Benefits

When a patient seeks medical services, they typically have health insurance coverage that helps them pay for the cost of their healthcare. In most cases, the patient is responsible for paying a portion of the bill, known as the copayment or deductible, while the insurance company covers the remaining amount. However, in situations where the patient has assigned their benefits to the healthcare provider, the provider can directly bill the insurance company for the services rendered.

The assignment of benefits is a legal agreement between the patient and the healthcare provider. By signing this agreement, the patient authorizes the healthcare provider to receive payment directly from the insurance company on their behalf. This ensures that the provider receives timely payment for the services provided, reducing the financial burden on the patient.

Difference between Assignment of Benefits and Power of Attorney

While the assignment of benefits may seem similar to a power of attorney (POA) in some respects, they are distinct legal concepts. A power of attorney grants someone the authority to make decisions and act on behalf of another person, including financial matters. On the other hand, an assignment of benefits only transfers the right to receive insurance benefits directly to the healthcare provider.

In healthcare, a power of attorney is typically used in situations where a patient is unable to make decisions about their medical care. It allows a designated individual, known as the healthcare proxy, to make decisions on behalf of the patient. In contrast, an assignment of benefits is used to streamline the payment process between the healthcare provider and the insurance company.

Examples of Assignment of Benefits

To better understand how assignment of benefits works, let's consider a few examples:

Sarah visits her primary care physician for a routine check-up. She has health insurance coverage through her employer. Before the appointment, Sarah signs an assignment of benefits form, authorizing her physician to receive payment directly from her insurance company. After the visit, the physician submits the claim to the insurance company, and they reimburse the physician directly for the covered services.

John undergoes a surgical procedure at a hospital. He has health insurance coverage through a private insurer. Prior to the surgery, John signs an assignment of benefits form, allowing the hospital to receive payment directly from his insurance company. The hospital submits the claim to the insurance company, and they reimburse the hospital for the covered services. John is responsible for paying any copayments or deductibles directly to the hospital.

Mary visits a specialist for a specific medical condition. She has health insurance coverage through a government program. Mary signs an assignment of benefits form, granting the specialist the right to receive payment directly from the government program. The specialist submits the claim to the program, and they reimburse the specialist for the covered services. Mary is responsible for any applicable copayments or deductibles.

In each of these examples, the assignment of benefits allows the healthcare provider to receive payment directly from the insurance company, simplifying the billing and reimbursement process for both the provider and the patient.

Assignment of benefits is a fundamental concept in healthcare revenue cycle management. It enables healthcare providers to receive payment directly from the insurance company, reducing the financial burden on patients and streamlining the billing process. By understanding the assignment of benefits, patients can make informed decisions about their healthcare and ensure that their providers receive timely payment for the services rendered.

Improve your financial performance while providing a more transparent patient experience

Related terms, payer identifier.

Payer identifier is a unique alphanumeric code assigned to healthcare payers, such as insurance companies or government programs, for identification and billing purposes.

Deductible is the predetermined amount that an insured individual must pay out of pocket for covered healthcare services before insurance coverage begins.

Subscribe to the

Healthcare Clarified newsletter

Get the latest insights on RCM and healthcare policy in your inbox

Received a document?

We’re the mechanics lien experts. It’s fast, easy, affordable, and done right.

Assignment of Benefits for Contractors: Pros & Cons of Accepting an AOB

22 articles

Insurance , Restoration , Slow Payment

An illustrated assignment of benefits form in front of a damaged house

When a property owner files an insurance claim to cover a restoration or roofing project, the owner typically deals directly with the insurance company. They may not have the funds available to pay the contractor out of pocket, so they’re counting on that insurance check to cover the construction costs.

But insurance companies often drag their feet, and payments can take even longer than normal. Contractors often wish they could simply deal with the insurance company directly through an assignment of benefits. In some circumstances, an AOB can be an effective tool that helps contractors collect payment faster — but is it worth it?

In this article, we’ll explain what an assignment of benefits is, and how the process works. More importantly, we’ll look at the pros and cons for restoration and roofing contractors to help you decide if an AOB is worth it .

What is an assignment of benefits?

An assignment of benefits , or AOB, is an agreement to transfer insurance claim rights to a third party. It gives the assignee authority to file and negotiate a claim directly with the insurance company, without involvement from the property owner.

An AOB also allows the insurer to pay the contractor directly instead of funneling funds through the customer. AOBs take the homeowner out of the claims equation.

Here’s an example: A property owner’s roof is damaged in a hurricane. The owner contacts a restoration company to repair the damage, and signs an AOB to transfer their insurance rights to the contractor. The contractor, now the assignee, negotiates the claim directly with the insurance company. The insurer will pay the claim by issuing a check for the repairs directly to the restoration contractor.

Setting up an AOB

A property owner and contractor can set up an assignment of benefits in two steps:

The owner and the contractor sign an AOB agreement
The contractor sends the AOB to the insurance company

Keep in mind that many states have their own laws about what the agreement can or should include .

For example, Florida’s assignment of benefits law contains relatively strict requirements when it comes to an assignment of benefits:

The AOB agreements need to be in writing. The agreement must contain a bolded disclosure notifying the customer that they are relinquishing certain rights under the homeowners policy. You can’t charge administrative fees or penalties if a homeowner decides to cancel the AOB.
The AOB must include an itemized, per-unit breakdown of the work you plan to do. The services can only involve how you plan to make repairs or restore the home’s damage or protect the property from any further harm. A copy must be provided to the insurance company.
A homeowner can rescind an AOB agreement within 14 days of signing, or within 30 days if no work has begun and no start date was listed for the work. If a start date is listed, the 30-day rule still applies if substantial progress has not been made on the job.

Before signing an AOB agreement, make sure you understand the property owner’s insurance policy, and whether the project is likely to be covered.

Learn more: Navigating an insurance claim on a restoration project

Pros & cons for contractors

It’s smart to do a cost-benefit analysis on the practice of accepting AOBs. Listing pros and cons can help you make a logical assessment before deciding either way.

Pro: Hiring a public adjuster

An insurance carrier’s claims adjuster will inspect property damage and arrive at a dollar figure calculated to cover the cost of repairs. Often, you might feel this adjuster may have overlooked some details that should factor into the estimate.

If you encounter pushback from the insurer under these circumstances, a licensed, public adjuster may be warranted. These appraisers work for the homeowner, whose best interests you now represent as a result of the AOB. A public adjuster could help win the battle to complete the repairs properly.

Pro: More control over payment

You may sink a considerable amount of time into preparing an estimate for a customer. You may even get green-lighted to order materials and get started. Once the ball starts rolling, you wouldn’t want a customer to back out on the deal.

Klark Brown , Co-founder of The Alliance of Independent Restorers, concedes this might be one of the very situations in which an AOB construction agreement might help a contractor. “An AOB helps make sure the homeowner doesn’t take the insurance money and run,” says Brown.

Pro: Build a better relationship with the homeowner

A homeowner suffers a substantial loss and it’s easy to understand why push and pull with an insurance company might be the last thing they want to undertake. They may desire to have another party act on their behalf.

As an AOB recipient, the claims ball is now in your court. By taking some of the weight off a customer’s shoulders during a difficult period, it could help build good faith and further the relationship you strive to build with that client.

Learn more : 8 Ways for Contractors to Build Trust With a Homeowner

Con: It confuses payment responsibilities

Even if you accept an AOB, the property owner still generally bears responsibility for making payment. If the insurance company is dragging their feet, a restoration contractor can still likely file a mechanics lien on the property .

A homeowner may think that by signing away their right to an insurance claim, they are also signing away their responsibility to pay for the restoration work. This typically isn’t true, and this expectation could set you up for a more contentious dispute down the line if there is a problem with the insurance claim.

Con: Tighter margins

Insurance companies will want repairs made at the lowest cost possible. Just like you, carriers run a business and need to cut costs while boosting revenue.

While some restoration contractors work directly with insurers and could get a steady stream of work from them, Brown emphasizes that you may be sacrificing your own margins. “Expect to accept work for less money than you’d charge independently,” he adds.

The takeaway here suggests that any contractor accepting an AOB could subject themselves to the same bare-boned profit margins.

Con: More administrative work

Among others, creating additional administrative busywork is another reason Brown recommends that you steer clear of accepting AOBs. You’re committing additional resources while agreeing to work for less money.

“Administrative costs are a burden,” Brown states. Insurers may reduce and/or delay payments to help their own bottom lines. “Insurers will play the float with reserves and claims funds,” he added. So, AOBs can be detrimental to your business if you’re spending more while chasing payments.

Con: Increase in average collection period

Every contractor should use some financial metrics to help gauge the health of the business . The average collection period for receivables measures the average time it takes you to get paid on your open accounts.

Insurance companies aren’t known for paying claims quickly. If you do restoration work without accepting an AOB, you can often take action with the homeowner to get paid faster. When you’re depending on an insurance company to make your payment, rather than the owner, collection times will likely increase.

The literal and figurative bottom line is: If accepting assignment of benefits agreements increases the time it takes to get paid and costs you more in operational expense, these are both situations you want to avoid.

Learn more: How to calculate your collection effectiveness

AOBs and mechanics liens

A mechanics lien is hands down a contractor’s most effective tool to ensure they get paid for their work. Many types of restoration services are protected under lien laws in most states. But what happens to lien rights when a contractor accepts an assignment of benefits?

An AOB generally won’t affect a contractor’s ability to file a mechanics lien on the property if they don’t receive payment. The homeowner is typically still responsible to pay for the improvements. This is especially true if the contract involves work that wasn’t covered by the insurance policy.

However, make sure you know the laws in the state where your project is located. For example, Florida’s assignment of benefits law, perhaps the most restrictive in the country, appears to prohibit an AOB assignee from filing a lien.

Florida AOB agreements are required to include language that waives the contractor’s rights to collect payment from the owner. The required statement takes it even further, stating that neither the contractor or any of their subs can file a mechanics lien on the owner’s property.

On his website , Florida’s CFO says: “The third-party assignee and its subcontractors may not collect, or attempt to collect money from you, maintain any action of law against you, file a lien against your property or report you to a credit reporting agency.”

That sounds like a contractor assignee can’t file a lien if they aren’t paid . But, according to construction lawyer Alex Benarroche , it’s not so cut-and-dry.

“Florida’s AOB law has yet to be tested in court, and it’s possible that the no-lien provision would be invalid,” says Benarroche. “This is because Florida also prohibits no-lien clauses in a contract. It is not legal for a contractor to waive their right to file a lien via an agreement prior to performance.”

Learn more about no-lien clauses and their enforceability state-by-state

Remember that every state treats AOBs differently, and conflicting laws can create additional risk. It’s important to consult with a construction lawyer in the project’s state before accepting an assignment of benefits.

Best practices for contractors

At the end of the day, there are advantages and disadvantages to accepting an assignment of benefits. While it’s possible in some circumstances that an AOB could help a contractor get paid faster, there are lots of other payment tools that are more effective and require less administrative costs. An AOB should never be the first option on the table .

If you do decide to become an assignee to the property owner’s claim benefits, make sure you do your homework beforehand and adopt some best practices to effectively manage the assignment of benefits process. You’ll need to keep on top of the administrative details involved in drafting AOBs and schedule work in a timely manner to stay in compliance with the conditions of the agreement.

Make sure you understand all the nuances of how insurance works when there’s a claim . You need to understand the owner’s policy and what it covers. Home insurance policy forms are basically standardized for easy comparisons in each state, so what you see with one company is what you get with all carriers.

Since you’re now the point of contact for the insurance company, expect more phone calls and emails from both clients and the insurer . You’ll need to have a strategy to efficiently handle ramped-up communications since the frequency will increase. Keep homeowners and claims reps in the loop so you can build customer relationships and hopefully get paid faster by the insurer for your work.

Ask an expert for free

I am doing some part-time administrative work for a friend who has an owner/operator pressure washing business located in NC in its first year of business. Recently, my friend has expressed interest in expanding his operations to FL so that he can eventually live and work between both...

I am a homeowner, 4 days prior to Ida, we had solar panels installed. Half were damaged and blown off of course, so after we allowed the solar panel co to do our roof and redo our panel system. After a year, they finally replaced our roof and...

I believe a person was impersonating as a licensed general contractor. When I verified the license in GA, the license belonged to a completely different individual. When I called the provided insurance carrier of the general contractor, the insurance company said the company did not have an active...

Thomas Tracy

View Profile

About the author

Recommended for you

Do i have to sign a lien waiver to get paid.

Lien waivers are an important part of optimizing construction payment. Property owners and GCs rely on waivers to manage the...

The Ultimate Guide to Lien Waivers in Construction

What are lien waivers in construction? This article is the ultimate guide for construction lien waivers including essential information and...

What Is Underbilling? | Construction Industry Accounting

Underbilling occurs when a contractor does not bill for all the labor and materials delivered in a billing cycle. It...

What are the Certified Payroll Requirements for Federal Construction Jobs?

What does Certified Payroll mean? This post covers the certified payroll requirements for contractors working on federal construction projects.

What Is a Notice of Commencement? Your Guide with Form Downloads

Typically, the filing of a notice of commencement by the property owner or other top-of-chain party affects preliminary notice and...

6 Construction Project Delivery Methods Compared

The steps required in a project’s journey to completion are importation to how successful the project will be. That’s why...

What is Overbilling? | Construction Industry Accounting

Overbilling occurs when a contractor bills for contracted labor and materials prior to that work actually being completed. For example,...

What Are “Back Charges” in Construction?

Back charges can be tricky if you're not careful! It's incredibly important to prioritize communication and documentation when back charges...

An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Medicaid Provider Reassignment Regulation Final Rule

Related resources.

HCBS Additional Resources

On May 6, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Reassignment of Medicaid Provider Claims Final Rule (CMS 2413-F) to rescind 42 C.F.R § 447.10(g)(4) regarding a state’s ability to reassign or divert certain provider reimbursement to third parties. More specifically, CMS removed the regulatory text at 42 C.F.R § 447.10(g)(4) because it granted permissions to states that Congress has foreclosed. The rescission took effect on July 5, 2019.

On September 13, 2019, the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services (CMCS) issued an Informational Bulletin (PDF, 233.76 KB) to remind states of the rescission of 42 C.F.R. § 447.10(g)(4).

Section 1902(a)(32) of the Social Security Act provides for a number of exceptions to its direct payment requirement, but the statute does not authorize the Agency to create new exceptions. This direct payment requirement and its exceptions are implemented in regulations at 42 C.F.R § 447.10. The former regulatory exception at §447.10(g)(4) is not authorized in the statute, and thus it has been removed from the regulations due to its lack of statutory authority. The rescission of §447.10(g)(4) does not affect agency-provided services rendered by employees receiving salaries/wages from the agency; however, it does affect the class of practitioners for which the Medicaid program is the primary source of service revenue and receive payment from the state. Effective July 5, 2019, any state that previously reassigned portions of a provider’s payment to third parties under §447.10(g)(4) must discontinue this practice.

CMS created a Provider Reassignment Regulation mailbox to accept questions, comments, and complaints/grievances regarding state compliance with the rescission of §447.10(g)(4) or impermissible withholdings. Any questions, comments, and complaints/grievances can be sent to: [email protected] .

Below are illustrations of provider claims/reimbursement:

Permissible Payment of Provider Claims. White icon of female medical practitioner with stethoscope around neck. Medicaid Provider. Step 1: Provider submits fee-for-service claim to State Medicaid Agency (SMA). Straight arrow to the right. White icon of stack of papers. State Medicaid Agency. Step 2: SMA reviews claims to determine which claims can be paid. Straight arrow to the right. White icon of a hand and a money symbol. State Medicaid Agency. Step 3: SMA makes payment to provider for the total amount of payable claims. Straight arrow to the right. White icon of dollar sign with green circle around dollar sign and green check mark on upper right side of image. Medicaid Provider. Step 4: Provider receives total amount of payment.

Social Security

Program operations manual system (poms).

TN 35 (04-14)

GN 02410.001 Assignment of Benefits

A. protection from assignment of benefits.

Sections 207 and 1631(d)(1) of the Social Security Act (the Act) prohibit “transfer” or “assignment” of a beneficiary or recipient’s right to future payment under title II and title XVI respectively. These sections of the Act prohibit the transfer of control over money to someone other than the beneficiary, recipient, or the representative payee. These sections also protect the beneficiary or recipient's right to receive payments directly, and to choose how to use the payments.

Our responsibility for protecting payments against legal process and assignment ends when we pay the beneficiary or recipient. However, once paid, Sections 207 and 1631(d)(1) of the Act continue to protect payments as long as we can identify them as:

Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits; or

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.

For example, this would include a situation in which RSDI or SSI payments are the only direct deposit payments in the account.

A beneficiary or recipient can use Sec. 207 or 1631(d)(1) of the Act as a personal defense if ordered to pay his or her payments to someone else, or if his or her payments are ordered to be taken by legal process.

B. Exceptions to protection from assignment of benefits

Laws may create exceptions to the protections provided under Sec. 207 and 1631 of the Act, but only if they explicitly identify the applicable section, either Sec. 207 or 1631 (also found in the United States Code as 42 USC 407 or 42 USC 1383), and provide that the law applies despite that section. So far, Congress has authorized the following exceptions to Sec. 207 and 1631 of the Act.

1. Garnishment of benefit payments for child support or alimony

Garnishment is the legal process of withholding an amount from money owed to a person in order to pay off the person’s debt to another. Under Sec.459 of the Act (42 USC 659), garnishment of benefit payments for the purpose of collecting amounts owed for child support or alimony is permitted. For policy on garnishment of title II benefits, see GN 02410.200 through GN 02410.225 .

2. Garnishment of benefit payments for victim restitution

Garnishment of benefit payments to recover court-ordered victim restitution is permitted under 18 USC 3613(a), 3663, 3663A, and 3664. For policy on garnishment for court-ordered victim restitution, see GN 02410.223 .

3. Levy for unpaid federal taxes

Levy is the legal seizure of property, such as Social Security benefit payments, to recover a debt. The IRS places a levy on benefit payments to recover unpaid federal taxes under 26 USC 6331 and 6334. For policy on IRS levy, see GN 02410.100 .

C. Fees and automatic withdrawals

State or Federal government guidelines do not regulate financial institution (FI) fees. These fees are a matter of contract between banks and their customers. Customary fees outlined in account contracts with FIs, and the automatic withdrawal of these fees, do not constitute an assignment of benefits. For a definition of an acceptable FI, see GN 02402.030 .

1. Financial institution

The following banking options meet Treasury’s definition of an acceptable FI:

Savings and loan associations,

Credit unions, or

Thrift institutions.

For policy on acceptable financial institutions, see GN 02402.030 .

NOTE : A master sub-account is an account at an FI established to receive deposits on behalf of a group of individuals. Sub-accounts are then set up at the same FI, another FI, or on the individual ledgers maintained by the master account holder. An acceptable master sub-account relationship is not an assignment of benefits. For policy on acceptable master sub-account relationships, see GN 02402.050 .

2. Account fees

We do not prohibit automatic withholding of account fees from accounts holding SSA payments when those fees are customary to accounts with the FI.

A fee is “customary” if it is consistent with fees associated with similar accounts at the FI and the same fees apply to both federal and non-federal deposits.

NOTE : We should question fees that apply only to federal payments. If the FI applies different fees to federal and similar non-federal deposits, send the issue in question to the Regional Office (RO).

3. Pre-authorized withdrawals

A beneficiary recipient, or his or her representative payee, may pre-authorize an FI, or other entity, to withdraw funds from his or her account for a wide variety of purposes (e.g., utility bills, mortgage payments, loan repayments, investments, nursing home fees, etc.). Once the beneficiary recipient, or his or her representative payee, establishes control by receipt and deposit of the payment, these arrangements are allowed, provided they can be terminated at any time. Terminating the arrangement does not mean terminating or canceling the debt. It means that the beneficiary recipient, or his or her representative payee, may terminate the pre-authorized withdrawal arrangement as a method for paying the debt. The right to receive and to choose how to use those payments exists if the beneficiary recipient, or his or her representative payee, can freely terminate this arrangement. If a beneficiary recipient, or his or her representative payee, cannot freely revoke the pre-authorized withdrawal, send the issue in question to the RO.

D. Prohibited arrangements versus acceptable relationships

The beneficiary recipient’s, or his or her representative payee’s, control of the receipt and use of payments will determine if a payment arrangement is prohibited or acceptable.

1. Prohibited arrangements

A. payment to the wrong person.

Do not make payment to any person or entity other than the beneficiary recipient, or his or her representative payee, except as outlined in GN 02410.001B and GN 02410.001C in this section. This prohibition applies regardless of the person or entity who makes the request.

For example, the prohibition applies when:

a beneficiary or recipient requests that we pay his or her payments to someone other than the beneficiary or the beneficiary’s representative payee.

a court orders SSA to make payment to a party other than the beneficiary or recipient, unless one of the specific exceptions in GN 02410.001B in this section exists. For policy on when SSA should not comply with a bankruptcy court’s order to pay benefits to a bankruptcy trustee, see GN 02410.005 .

When you are unable to determine whether there is a prohibited arrangement, send the issue in question to the RO.

b. Other prohibited arrangements

Even if the payment goes directly to the beneficiary or recipient (or the representative payee), the arrangement may is prohibited if the beneficiary or recipient surrenders control of the payments. Avoid any arrangement where the beneficiary or recipient surrenders or shares control of payments with a person or entity that has an interest in charging or collecting money from the beneficiary or recipient.

Avoid the following situations:

Do not approve sending a payment, either by check or electronically, to a loan company where the beneficiary or recipient has a loan, or to a party holding the beneficiary or recipient's power of attorney. For information on power of attorney, see GN 02410.010 .

Do not approve a bank account when the attorney or non-attorney representative has the power to withdraw funds so that representative’s fees can be collected directly from that beneficiary or recipient’s account. See the note in GN 03920.025A . For policy on unacceptable requests for direct deposit, see GN 02402.085 .

In both scenarios given, the arrangement is prohibited because the beneficiary or recipient surrenders control over the payment.

When you are unsure of a prohibited arrangement, send the issue in question to the RO.

2. Acceptable relationships

A. third-party repayment.

Third parties may employ representatives to ensure that beneficiaries or recipients repay debts owed to the third parties immediately after the beneficiary or recipient starts to receive payment. This arrangement is acceptable if:

The third-party representative has no financial interest in the beneficiary or recipient’s direct deposit account (i.e., he is not named on the account and has no authority to direct the money in the account);

The third party representative is not charging the beneficiary or recipient a fee;

The beneficiary or recipient pre-authorizes, (according to the financial institution’s policy), a withdrawal of funds from his account to repay a debt to a third party;

The third-party representative did not obtain the pre-authorization from the beneficiary or recipient through deceit, coercion, or intimidation; and

The third-party representative gets oral or written confirmation from the beneficiary or recipient of the pre-authorization to withdraw the money from the account after we deposit funds into the beneficiary or recipient’s account and before a transfer of funds to pay the third party debt.

NOTE : Confirmation is necessary because a beneficiary or recipient may have signed the pre-authorization before learning whether he or she will receive benefits and the amount of past-due benefits he or she will receive. In this situation, confirmation prevents the third party from taking funds before the beneficiary or recipient exercises control over the funds.

b. Financial institution-electronic funds distributor (FI-EFD) accounts

Some FI have established Electronic Funds Distributor (EFD) relationships with various check cashing establishments to receive and distribute monthly direct deposit payments to assist SSA beneficiaries or recipients who do not have traditional bank accounts.

The FI receives the monthly payment by direct deposit titled under the beneficiary or recipient’s name. Then, the FI electronically transfers payment to the contracted EFD. The EFD, acting as an agent of the FI, will then release the monthly payment to the account holder in the form of a cashier’s check.

These FI-EFD accounts are acceptable and not prohibited if they meet the following requirements:

The FI must be acceptable under United States Treasury guidelines. (For policy on acceptable types of financial institutions, see GN 02402.030A .)

The EFD must have a contract with and act as an agent of the FI.

The FI account must be acceptable as outlined in GN 02402.030 B.1 .

A secondary contract relationship that attaches the FI-EFD transaction account as collateral for loan fees associated with the EFD cannot exist as a requirement for participation between the EFD and the beneficiary or recipient.

No person or entity can have control over the receipt, or use of, SSA benefit payments other than the beneficiary or his or her representative payee. (For Assignment of Benefits, see GN 02410.001 and Sec.1631 (d)(1).)

The beneficiary, recipient, or representative payee may cancel his or her FI-EFD direct deposit arrangement at any time.

Fees associated with the account must be customary to fees for similar accounts at the FI and those fees are outlined in the FI-customer contract.

When you are unable to clearly determine whether an FI-EFD account is acceptable, send the issue in question to the RO.

E. Examples of acceptable and prohibited relationships

1. acceptable relationship.

A company pays long-term disability (LTD) benefits to a customer and requires them to file for Social Security title II benefits. When the Social Security claim is allowed, the amount of Social Security benefits received offsets the LTD benefit amount. As an incentive to induce the LTD insurer to refer claimants, the claimant’s LTD representative offers to assist the insurer with recovering the overpayment the insurer made to the claimant. The LTD representative does not charge the claimant a fee for this service. The LTD representative also makes it clear to the claimant that he or she may pay the LTD directly and does not have to pay the LTD through the representative.

At the LTD representative’s request, the claimant gives the representative pre-authorization to withdraw funds from the claimant’s bank account if SSA approves the claim and issues the claimant past-due benefits.

After we approve the claim and deposit the past-due benefits into the claimant’s account, the LTD representative gets oral authorization (in addition to the pre-authorization) to transfer those funds to the LTD insurer to satisfy the LTD overpayment. The LTD representative also documents the oral authorization. We will accept this arrangement. The beneficiary is exercising control over the past-due benefits deposited into his or her account before the pre-authorized transfer of funds, and the beneficiary understands that he or she could have elected to pay the LTD directly. The LTD provider does not receive a fee from the beneficiary and obtains a pre-authorization to transfer funds from the beneficiary’s account in order to repay the third party (i.e., the overpayment of payments from the insurer). The LTD representative also gets authorization after deposit of the SSA benefit payment into the beneficiary’s account. For policy on acceptable third-party repayment arrangements, see GN 02410.001D.2.a. , in this section.

b. Master sub-account

Comfort Nursing Home maintains a master sub-account titled “Comfort Nursing Home Patients' Accounts” at New State Bank for the convenience of its residents. The nursing home sets up a separate sub-account for each resident. Residents sign agreements for the nursing home to withdraw monthly amounts for care costs. Residents can withdraw any amount, up to the balance in their accounts for personal expenses and they have the right to terminate the account at any time. The nursing home keeps track of all deposits and withdrawals. This is an acceptable master sub-account. For policy on acceptable master sub-accounts with FI, see GN 02402.050 .

c. FI-EFD

Big Bucks Bank Inc. (BBB) is an accepted FI. BBB offers the “We-Pay-U” program for customers without traditional bank accounts. We-Pay-U program customers sign a contract and establish a non-interest bearing account with BBB for the sole purpose of electronic transfer of federal or non-federal monthly payments to that account. Beneficiaries or recipients can then receive their SSA payments in the form of a cashier's check from Brown Bear Check Cashing. Brown Bear Check Cashing acts as an agent of BBB and must adhere to the rules and regulations of BBB in relation to the We-Pay-U account. The We-Pay-U customer agrees to a monthly processing fee associated with the We-Pay-U account, which BBB withdraws from their payment automatically. This is an acceptable relationship. The beneficiary or recipient has established control of their payment and the fees associated with the We-Pay-U program. Because the account fees in the contract apply to both federal and non-federal monthly payments, we consider them customary to the BBB account. For policy on acceptable FI-EFD arrangements, see GN 02410.001D.2.b. in this section.

2. Prohibited arrangement

A beneficiary or recipient has appointed an attorney representative to help him in proceedings before SSA. SSA is not paying an attorney fee directly to the representative. The beneficiary or recipient establishes a checking account in his or her own name that requires the signature of both the beneficiary or recipient and the attorney on checks written to withdraw funds from the account. The beneficiary or recipient requests direct deposit of his or her payments to that account. This is a prohibited arrangement because the beneficiary or recipient has given control of access to payments to the attorney representative. See the following references for additional information:

For policy on Who is a Representative, see GN 03910.020 .

For policy on representative’s fees in trust or escrow accounts, see GN 03920.025 .

For policy on acceptable types of financial institutions and accounts, see GN 02402.030 .

For policy on payment to the wrong person, see GN 02410.001D.1. , in this section.

F. References

GN 02402.030 Acceptable Types of Financial Institutions and Accounts

GN 02402.050 Account Titles

GN 02402.085 Unacceptable Requests for Direct Deposit

GN 03910.020 Who Is a Representative

GN 03920.017 Payment of Representative's Fee

GN 03920.025 Representative's Fee - Trust or Escrow Accounts

An official website of the United States government.

Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

American Rescue Plan
Coronavirus Resources
Disability Resources
Disaster Recovery Assistance
Equal Employment Opportunity
Guidance Search
Health Plans and Benefits
Registered Apprenticeship
International Labor Issues
Labor Relations
Leave Benefits
Major Laws of DOL
Other Benefits
Retirement Plans, Benefits and Savings
Spanish-Language Resources
Termination
Unemployment Insurance
Veterans Employment
Whistleblower Protection
Workers' Compensation
Workplace Safety and Health
Youth & Young Worker Employment
Breaks and Meal Periods
Continuation of Health Coverage - COBRA
FMLA (Family and Medical Leave)
Full-Time Employment
Mental Health
Office of the Secretary (OSEC)
Administrative Review Board (ARB)
Benefits Review Board (BRB)
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ)
Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA)
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOMBD)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)
Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Women's Bureau (WB)
Agencies and Programs
Meet the Secretary of Labor
Leadership Team
Budget, Performance and Planning
Careers at DOL
Privacy Program
Recursos en Español
News Releases
Economic Data from the Department of Labor
Email Newsletter

News Release

US Department of Labor extends comment period for joint request on retirement plan benefits information provided to workers, federal government

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. have jointly extended the comment period soliciting public input on existing reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans.

The Request for Information ’s comment period has been extended for 30 days and will end on May 22, 2024.

The agencies published the RFI to develop a public record for purposes of the directive in section 319 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which requires that these agencies review the existing reporting and disclosure requirements for certain retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended and the Internal Revenue Code that are applicable to each agency.

The department encourages all interested parties to submit comments on the proposal during the extended public comment period.

Learn more about the Employee Benefits Security Administration and its work to protect job-based healthcare and retirement plans .

Share full article

Supported by

What to Do When Your 401(k) Leaves Something to Be Desired

Over the course of a career, the high fees and a lower-quality menu of investment options found in some plans can shrink your balance significantly.

Chris Gentry sitting on a table with his feet up on a chair.

By Mark Miller

Chris Gentry is meticulous about his craft — he’s a professional woodworker at a small company in Brooklyn, N.Y., that makes custom dining and coffee tables, cabinets and interiors.

He creates pieces on his own from start to finish and enjoys that freedom. “It’s nice to have control over the way something should be done,” he said.

Mr. Gentry, 36, is equally conscientious about saving for retirement. He has contributed the maximum allowable amounts to his employer’s 401(k) plan over the past two years and also topped out a Roth individual retirement account. He hopes to buy an apartment and start a family soon with his partner. “It seems like all that will be expensive, so I’m trying to get an early start on retirement savings while I can,” he said. Between the two accounts, he has managed to save $80,000.

His employer kicks in a generous 5 percent of his salary to the 401(k) no matter how much Mr. Gentry contributes. But he worries about the plan’s high-cost mutual funds. “They’re expensive compared with what I can get in the I.R.A.,” he said. He even wonders if he should contribute to the plan at all. “I’m not sure how to determine at what point the fees become so expensive that the benefits of the 401(k) are outweighed by the fees.”

Fees are one of the most important factors of successful retirement investing. They determine how much ends up in your pocket after mutual funds and 401(k) plan providers take their cut. The bite especially hurts younger workers, who face the risk that high fees will compound over time.

“Fees compound in the same way that returns compound,” said Scott Puritz, managing director at Rebalance , a firm that often works with clients on 401(k) rollovers and advises companies on ways to improve their plans. “People are numb to the differences, but it’s a major determinant of long-term returns.”

Costs are usually much higher in plans sponsored by small businesses, like the 10-person firm where Mr. Gentry works. His plan doesn’t offer low-cost passive index fund choices. He is invested solely in a target date fund made up of actively managed mutual funds that have lagged the overall market’s returns during the past decade. The fund charges an annual expense fee of just over 1 percent.

That amount is typical for small plans, according to data compiled for the 401(k) Averages Book, which surveys companies that provide plans to employers. For example, the survey shows that among plans with 10 participants and $1 million in assets, average investment costs are 1.10 percent. At larger firms, those fees are far lower: At companies with 1,000 to 5,000 plan participants, target date fund fees average just 0.33 percent, according to data compiled by the Investment Company Institute and BrightScope. (Target date funds shift gradually toward bonds from stocks as a worker approaches an expected date for retirement.)

It’s not unusual for small plans to carry total expenses far higher. “We often see plans that charge 2 or 3 percent all in — sometimes more,” Mr. Puritz said.

A key reason for the varying amount of fees is the fixed costs of administering a plan and how those costs are spread across companies of different sizes. “If I have a small coffee shop plan with $100,000 in assets, the costs are spread across fewer people compared with a very large company,” said Joe Valletta, principal with Pension Data Source, which publishes the 401(k) Averages Book. “The big plan has higher fixed costs, but it’s spread over a lot more employees and a larger asset base.”

Mr. Gentry is fortunate to work for an employer that offers any kind of plan. Only about half of private-sector U.S. workers are covered by an employer retirement plan at any given time, and the gap is driven by lower participation in the system by small employers, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College . Workers often gain and lose coverage as they change jobs.

The coverage gap helps explain why many workers reach retirement with savings unlikely to last the rest of their lives. According to the Federal Reserve, the median retirement account holdings for workers aged 55 to 64 years old was $185,000 in 2022.

But fees also play a leading role, especially for young workers who face the compound effects over many years of saving. The difference in account balances when they retire can be staggering.

The New York Times worked with Rebalance to create a hypothetical example, illustrating the career-long effect of plans with a variety of fee levels. We considered a 28-year-old worker with a starting salary of $75,000 who saves diligently in her 401(k) account throughout her career. She contributes 6 percent of her salary annually and receives a 3 percent matching contribution from her employer. The scenario shows the effect of what she will have at three possible retirement ages. At 65, her portfolio is nearly 66 percent smaller in a high-cost plan compared with the lowest.

High Fees Can Take a Huge Bite Out of Your 401(k)

We used the example of a hypothetical 28-year-old worker who saves diligently in her 401(k) account throughout her career. At the time of her retirement, her 401(k) balance varies greatly depending on how high the plan’s fees are and when she retires.

Hypothetical balances at retirement

Plan balances in millions of dollars

Percentage difference from the low-fee plan.

Low fees (1.25%)

High fees (3%)

Medium fees (2%)

Plan balances in

millions of dollars

Percentage difference from low-fee plans.

Determining the fees that you pay is not simple. Fees can be charged for plan administration, investments and sometimes for individual services provided to participants; all 401(k) plans are required to send an annual notice that explains the fees that can be deducted from your account, but understanding them is another matter.

“It’s very difficult for people to understand their fees unless they’re investment professionals, which most retirees are not,” said Lisa M. Gomez, assistant secretary for employee benefits security at the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Secure 2.0 legislation of 2022 directed the department to examine ways to improve plan information, including how to understand fees. It expects to report to Congress with recommendations by the end of 2025, Ms. Gomez said. The department publishes a guide to 401(k) fees and has a toll-free line with advisers who can help participants understand their fees (866-444-3272).

But asking your employer about fees is a good starting point. “You have the right to know what you’re paying, so go to your human resources department, and ask them to tell you about your options and what they cost,” Mr. Puritz, the managing director at Rebalance, said. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority offers an online tool that analyzes how fees and other expenses affect the value of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds over time.

Your plan is mediocre. What now?

If your employer’s plan offers an annual matching contribution, save enough to capture it — doing otherwise leaves money on the table. “If they are matching dollar for dollar or 50 cents on the dollar, that’s a 100 percent or 50 percent return with almost zero risk,” said Heath Biller, a financial planner with Fiduciary Financial Advisors in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Pay careful attention to your investment choices, and look for the least expensive options. If possible, find a low-cost index fund that tracks the entire stock market. “Even if the investment menu is larded with high-expense funds, you may be able to find an index fund or a decent quality target date fund series,” said Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar.

You can also push for change. Mediocre 401(k) plans can get better. Employers are usually the fiduciary with a legal responsibility to consider only the interest of participants, and it’s in their own best interest to take your misgivings under consideration. “You can raise your concerns about high fees or poor investment options with your employer and ask if the company is able to consider adjustments,” Mr. Biller said.

After you’ve captured the employer match, consider low-cost options outside your 401(k) for additional saving. This year, you can contribute up to $23,000 to a 401(k) and $7,000 to an I.R.A.; savers 50 and older can contribute more via catch-up contributions. Eligibility to deduct the I.R.A. contributions phases out at certain income levels . Establishing one low-cost I.R.A. also lets you roll balances over to a single account as you change jobs through the course of your career, which is a great way to stay organized.

If you have self-employment income in addition to wages, a Simplified Employee Pension I.R.A . or Solo 401(k) offer routes around the I.R.A. contribution limits. Solo 401(k) accounts have higher contribution limits and are not available if you operate a company with employees; the government reporting requirements vary between these two options.

Yulia Petrovsky, a financial planner in San Francisco, has many clients working for large technology companies who also have side businesses. “Some of them are doing start-up work,” she said. “Some have marketing or other consulting gigs, especially when in between jobs, so these accounts can be a real slam dunk.”

Taxable investment accounts offer another route around I.R.A. contribution limits, especially for older retirement savers. Unlike 401(k) and I.R.A. accounts, they don’t come with an upfront tax benefit. Investment gains are subject to capital gains rates, although these are more favorable than ordinary income tax rates imposed on withdrawal from tax-deferred accounts.

Tax deferral is less important for older investors, who have less time to benefit from the tax-deferred compounding available in such accounts than younger investors.

It’s also possible to use tax-efficient investments in taxable accounts, such as broad-market equity exchange-traded funds, which have become very tax efficient, and municipal bonds — which generally are not subject to federal income taxes — for fixed income, Ms. Benz added.

“It’s not that difficult to simulate some of the tax-sheltering characteristics of a tax-deferred account in a taxable account,” she said.

A Guide to Making Better Financial Moves

Making sense of your finances can be complicated. the tips below can help..

The way advisers handle your retirement money is about to change: More investment professionals will be required to act in their customers’ best interest when providing advice about their retirement money.

The I.R.S. estimates that 940,000 people who didn’t file their tax returns in 2020 are due back money. The deadline for filing to get it is May 17.

Credit card debt is rising, and shopping for a card with a lower interest rate can help you save money. Here are some things to know .

Whether you’re looking to make your home more energy-efficient, install solar panels or buy an electric car, this guide can help you save money and fight climate change .

Starting this year, some of the money in 529 college savings accounts can be used for retirement if it’s not needed for education. Here is how it works .

Are you trying to improve your credit profile? You can now choose to have your on-time rent payments reported to the credit bureaus to enhance your score.

Cover Letters
Jobs I've Applied To
Saved Searches
Subscriptions

Marine Corps

Coast guard.

Space Force
Military Podcasts
Benefits Home
Military Pay and Money
Veteran Health Care
VA eBenefits
Veteran Job Search
Military Skills Translator
Upload Your Resume
Veteran Employment Project
Vet Friendly Employers
Career Advice
Military Life Home
Military Trivia Game
Veterans Day
Spouse & Family
Military History
Discounts Home
Featured Discounts
Veterans Day Restaurant Discounts
Electronics
Join the Military Home
Contact a Recruiter
Military Fitness

'Lack of Respect': Army National Guard Criticized by Lawmakers for Bungling Enlistment Bonus Payments

Mississippi National Guard CH-47 Chinook crewman

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is demanding answers from the Army National Guard on its plans to pay delinquent enlistment bonuses to the thousands of soldiers who are owed.

In a letter Tuesday to Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the National Guard's top officer, Reps. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.; Mike Waltz, R-Fla.; and Trent Kelly, R-Miss., questioned how the service component has seemingly bungled how it pays its troops after Military.com reported it is behind on paying about 13,000 soldiers their enlistment bonuses .

Most recently, the Army National Guard sent out thousands of letters to former soldiers regarding potentially missed bonuses -- asking them to figure out whether they're owed money. The Guard pointed them to a series of bureaucratic and time-consuming hurdles, including gathering service documentation that may be difficult to obtain.

Read Next: Army Division Bars Leaders from Bothering Their Soldiers After Work Hours

"Civilians are not required to navigate through an extensive, monthslong claims process just to get the payments they were promised doing their job," lawmakers wrote to Hokanson. "It is deeply disappointing that the Guard believes that they can withhold payment when it involves our men and women in uniform."

The issue has gotten so out of control, nearly 4,000 of those 13,000 soldiers are estimated to have completed an entire contract, usually four to six years, and have since left the Guard without bonuses initially promised when they signed up. The bonuses can be up to $20,000.

Instead of outright telling those former service members what they are owed, the Army National Guard has instead placed the onus on them to figure it out. It's also unclear whether the Guard has updated addresses for veterans or why it can't parse through who is and isn't owed a bonus.

The lawmakers in the group are all veterans. Kelly serves as the National Guard assistant adjutant general in Mississippi.

In the letter, they included a series of questions for the Guard, including whether it has an appeals process for veterans who may end up being denied payments; how the Guard plans to support those without proper documentation; and why Guard officials burdened veterans to begin with.

"Beyond severely impacting recruitment and retention, it signals a lack of respect for their service," the lawmakers added in the letter. "Particularly for our enlisted men and women."

Soldiers are typically paid their bonuses in two chunks: when they complete their initial training and halfway through their contract. The National Guard Bureau aims for bonuses to be paid out within 30 days of those milestones, but that is not codified into policy. On average, it takes six months for soldiers to be paid when the process runs smoothly.

Meanwhile, the bonus backlog has been ongoing for years and is due to a variety of issues.

Some Guard officials have described to Military.com that some states have poorly trained or poorly performing staff to process the benefits. It isn't uncommon for state-level staff to manually track bonuses on pieces of paper or dry erase boards, leading to numerous errors.

The backlog was particularly inflamed by two 10-month outages of the Army National Guard Incentive Management System, or GIMS, which manages bonuses. The system crashed in 2018 due to a fire in the Pentagon's servers and again in 2021 in an unrelated incident.

The news also comes amid an ongoing recruiting crisis. While there's little evidence enlistment bonuses have much of a direct impact on recruiting, they do sweeten the deal and can direct applicants to jobs in the service that are in more desperate need of being filled.

The Army is also in the midst of reviewing its education benefits for possible cuts as costs have ballooned, Military.com first reported . Congress and some veteran advocacy groups have signaled they would put up enormous resistance to the service cutting benefits.

Related: The Army National Guard Owes Thousands of Former Soldiers Unpaid Bonuses. It's Asking Them to Figure It Out.

Steve Beynon

Military News

Investigations and Features
Military Opinion

Select Service

National Guard

Most Popular Military News

A U.S. Army infantryman grips his M249 light machine gun

A 7th Infantry Division soldier at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state was accidentally shot April 25 by a 1st...

Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, which flies AC-130J...

Master Chief Petty Officer Timothy Beard, off-going reserve command master chief, Coast Guard 13th District, displays the notes for the speech to the crowd during a change-of-watch ceremony in Seattle, July 9, 2018. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross/U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Reserve Timothy Beard was relieved Friday as a result of "loss of confidence,"...

1st Lt. Jordan Savage does pushups in the West Texas desert

After being covered in dust, sweat, dirt and blood, three officers emerged from the West Texas desert last week and were...

Latest Benefits Info

Burial at Sea: A Time-Honored Tradition
4 Tips for Flying Space-A
The Mental Burden of Using Military Benefits
Fertility Benefits for Active-Duty Service Members
Military Child Care Fees

More Military Headlines

Shannon Wilkerson, 43, killed 19-year-old Amanda Gonzales, a fellow Army soldier, in Gonzales’ barracks room in Fliegerhorst...

The drills are the latest indication of how the United States and the Philippines have bolstered a defense treaty alliance...

Alabama Man Convicted of Killing Pregnant Soldier, 19, on US Army Base in Germany 23 Years Ago
Gordon and Aleksandra: Videos, Photos Show Relationship Between Detained Soldier and Russian Woman
Secretive Army Group’s Recruiting Video Is Chock-Full of Hidden Meanings, Viewers Say
Space Force Data Helps Detect ‘Lost’ Spy Satellite that Orbited Earth Undetected for 25 Years
Air Force Pilots Now Can Start Mental Health Treatment and Won't Immediately Be Pulled from Flight Status
Special Operations Airman Shot and Killed by Florida Police During Disturbance in Apartment Building
How Shannon Kent Became a Trailblazer Among US Special Operations Forces
Navy Hopes to Have Beleaguered USS Boxer Deploy This Summer After Fixes
Boeing Is on the Verge of Launching Astronauts Aboard New Capsule, the Latest Entry to Space Travel

Military Benefits Updates

Marines' New Amphibious Combat Vehicle Makes Operational Debut in Annual Philippines Exercise
US and Philippine Forces Stage Combat Drills near Strategic Channel Off Southern Taiwan
More than 100 Junior Marine Promotions Delayed Due to Computerized Clerical Error
Massachusetts Woman Accused of Driving into Fenway Park, Crashing into Coast Guard Base: 'We Are All Going to Be in a Movie'
Coast Guard Relieves Its Top Reserve Enlisted Leader After Investigation into Misconduct
What We Know About Various Investigations Stemming from Key Bridge Collapse

Entertainment

The Best Games to Buy Right Now, No Matter Your Current Pay Level
Pierce Brosnan Returns to the World of Espionage in 'A Spy's Guide to Survival'
9 Games You Can Fit in Your Ruck and Play in the Field

Medindia » Articles » Procedure » FAQs on Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know

Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know

Indications
Non-Surgical Procedures
Surgical Procedures
Risks in Non-Surgical and Surgical Procedures
Whom to consult?
Pre-Op Considerations
Post-Op Considerations
Impact on Mental Health
Cost of the Surgery

FAQs on Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know

Html.Raw(Model.contents.ToString())

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

Dr. Preethi Balasubramanian. (2024, May 08). Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know . Medindia. Retrieved on May 08, 2024 from https://www.medindia.net/health/procedure/gender-reassignment-surgery-everything-you-need-to-know-faqs.htm.

Dr. Preethi Balasubramanian. "Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know". Medindia . May 08, 2024. <https://www.medindia.net/health/procedure/gender-reassignment-surgery-everything-you-need-to-know-faqs.htm>.

Dr. Preethi Balasubramanian. "Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/health/procedure/gender-reassignment-surgery-everything-you-need-to-know-faqs.htm. (accessed May 08, 2024).

Dr. Preethi Balasubramanian. 2024. Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know . Medindia, viewed May 08, 2024, https://www.medindia.net/health/procedure/gender-reassignment-surgery-everything-you-need-to-know-faqs.htm.

Is Gender Reassignment Surgery Against Nature?

ASK A DOCTOR ONLINE

Get Health and Wellness Secrets from Our Engaging eBooks

What's New on Medindia

Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know

Follow @MedIndia

Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know - Related News

Addressing Mental Health Needs in the Transgender Community
A Global Comparison: Best Countries for Gender Reassignment Surgery
Transgender Healthcare Disparities Highlighted
Why is Thyroid Cancer More Common Among Transgender Female Veterans?
Is Gender Reassignment Surgery Against Nature?
Consult Online Doctor
Take Telemedicine course
Health Centers
Health Tools
Health info by Speciality
Know Your Body
Health and Wellness
Web Stories
Health Tips
Nutrition Facts
Lifestyle & Wellness
Beauty Tips
Diet & Nutrition
Home Remedies
Obesity & Weight Loss
Complementary Medicine
Special Reports
Press Releases
Health Guide
Health articles
Health Quiz
Health Facts
Travel Health
Medicine and Movies
Symptom Articles
Diabetes Tools
Pediatric Calculators
Men's Health
Women's Health
Height Weight Tools
Cardiac Tools
Pharma Tools
Wellness Interactive Tools
Drug Information
Drugs by Condition
Drug Price List - Brand Names
Drug Interaction with Food
Drug Price List - Generic Names
Drugs - Side Effects
Drug Videos
Drug Database
Doctor Directory
Diagnostic Lab Directory
Hospital Directory
Pharmacy or Chemist
Medical Equipment Suppliers
Pharma Directory
Emergency Services
PG Education
Family Medicine
Other Resources
Medical Aphorism
Health Acts in India
Health Quotations
Medical Conference
Amazing Body Facts
Health poll

Editorial Team
Exclusive Interviews
In the News
Partners & Affiliates
Advertise With Us
हिन्दी
français
Español
中文

IMAGES

Assignment Of Benefits Form
Fillable Online NF-AOB (Rev 1/2004) Assignment of Benefits Form Fax
Assignment Of Benefits Form Template
Assignment Of Benefits Form printable pdf download
What is an Assignment of Benefits Agreement?
Assignment Of Benefits

VIDEO

Who Does An Assignment Of Benefits Benefit, Me Or The Insurance Company?
TPT251 Individual Assignment : Benefits of Supply Chain Management (SCM)
The work integrated assignment benefits
English practice assignment exposition text "Benefits of Breakfast for People"
Case Management Board. 2024 Update
Top 20 Benefits Overseas Assignment I Federal Benefits I Part 2

COMMENTS

PDF Reassignment of Benefits
Section 6: Certification Statements and Signatures. The signatures in this section authorize the reassignment of benefits to an eligible individual or entity or the termination of a reassignment of benefits. Signature dates cannot be more than 120 days prior to the receipt date.
Medicare Assignment: What It Is and How It Works
For Medicare beneficiaries, assignment of benefits means that the person receiving care agrees to allow a nonparticipating provider to bill Medicare directly (as opposed to having the person receiving care pay the bill up front and seek reimbursement from Medicare). Assignment of benefits is authorized by the person receiving care in Box 13 of ...
How to Add or Remove Reassignment of Benefits (To An Approved Enrollment)
How to Add or Remove Reassignment of Benefits (To An Approved Enrollment) The following walk-thru explains how to instruct a User on how to add or remove a reassignment of benefits on an approved enrollment in PECOS. 1. The User will go to the PECOS web site at https://pecos.cms.hhs.gov, enter their I&A User ID and Password, and select "Log In."
PECOS for dummies Part I: Reassigning Benefits
Reassigning benefits means you can start seeing Medicare patients under a new organization, and in return be reimbursed something less dismal than most of your commercial payors fee. Are you a confused or burnt-out provider? Well just be burnt-out, because we are about to give you a step-by-step guide to reassigning your benefits through PECOS!
Assignment of Benefits
Assignment of benefits is not authorization to submit claims. It is important to note that the beneficiary signature requirements for submission of claims are separate and distinct from assignment of benefits requirements except where the beneficiary died before signing the request for payment for a service furnished by a supplier and the ...
Help
You cannot re-submit your current enrollment to the contractor. You need to create a new initial enrollment application. Indicate the MED sanction and reinstatement information in the Final Adverse Actions section. When I view and print my 855S PDF form in section 2B there is a 'P' or 'S' displayed in the checkboxes.
PDF REASSIGNMENT OF MEDICARE BENEFITS HTTPS://PECOS.CMS.HHS
terminate a reassignment of Medicare benefits after enrollment in the Medicare program or make a change in their reassignment of Medicare benefit information using either: • The Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS), or • The paper CMS-855R application. Be sure you are using the most current version.
PDF Medicare Enrollment Application
CMS-855R. SEE PAGE 1 TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE COMPLETING THE CORRECT APPLICATION AND FOR INFORMATION ON WHERE TO MAIL THIS COMPLETED APPLICATION. TO VIEW YOUR CURRENT MEDICARE REASSIGNMENTS GO TO: HTTPS://PECOS.CMS.HHS.GOV. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Form Approved CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES OMB No. 0938-1179.
Assignment of Benefits: What It Is, and How It Can Affect your ...
What is an Assignment of Benefits? In the context of insured property claims, an assignment of benefits (AOB) is an agreement between you and a contractor in which you give the contractor your right to insurance payments for a specific scope of work.In exchange, the contractor agrees that it will not seek payment from you for that scope of work, except for the amount of any applicable deductible.
What is an assignment of benefits (AOB)?
Pros of assignment of benefits. With proper safeguards in place to reduce opportunities for fraud, AOBs have the ability to streamline and simplify the insurance claims process. An AOB frees you ...
Medicare Assignment
Medicare assignment is a fee schedule agreement between the federal government's Medicare program and a doctor or facility. When Medicare assignment is accepted, it means your doctor agrees to the payment terms of Medicare. Doctors that accept Medicare assignment fall under one of three designations: a participating doctor, a non ...
Medicare's reassignment of payment rules
The most extensive discussion of Medicare's rules on the reassignment of payment from a physician to another individual or entity are found in the CMS Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Manual), Chapter 1, Sections 30.2 to Sections 30.2.16. The most common exception to the basic prohibition on reassignment that is utilized by physicians is ...
Assignment and Non-assignment of Benefits
Non-assignment of Benefits. Non-assigned is the method of reimbursement a physician/supplier has when choosing to not accept assignment of benefits. Under this method, a non-participating provider is the only provider that can file a claim as non-assigned. When the provider does not accept assignment, the Medicare payment will be made directly ...
What is an assignment of benefits?
An assignment of benefits (AOB) is a legal agreement you sign that lets a third party negotiate, bill, and receive payment from your insurance provider. ... But once you sign it, you're likely ...
Assignment of Benefits: Consumer Beware
An Assignment of Benefits, or an AOB, is an agreement signed by a policyholder that allows a third party—such as a water extraction company, a roofer or a plumber—to act on behalf of the insured and seek direct payment from the insurance company. An AOB can be a useful tool for getting repairs done, as it allows the repair company to deal ...
Reassignment of Benefits
Enrollment Application - Reassignment. of Benefits. Download the Guidance Document. Final. Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Issue Date: January 01, 2020. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance ...
Assignment of Benefits: What You Need to Know
Learn when and how to use an assignment of benefits in this guide. When dealing with insurance, you need to understand assignment of benefits. Learn when and how to use an assignment of benefits in this guide. Skip to content. ... If you're not sure whether you have grounds for a lawsuit, contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers today at 1-516-342-2200 ...
Assignment of benefits
Assignment of benefits. Assignment of benefits is a legal agreement where a patient authorizes their healthcare provider to receive direct payment from the insurance company for services rendered. Boost patient experience and your bottom line by automating patient cost estimates, payer underpayment detection, and contract optimization in one place.
Assignment of Benefits for Contractors: Pros & Cons of ...
An assignment of benefits, or AOB, is an agreement to transfer insurance claim rights to a third party. It gives the assignee authority to file and negotiate a claim directly with the insurance company, without involvement from the property owner. ... You're committing additional resources while agreeing to work for less money.
What is assignment of benefits, and how does it impact insurers?
Mar 06, 2020 Share. Assignment of benefits, widely referred to as AOB, is a contractual agreement signed by a policyholder, which enables a third party to file an insurance claim, make repair ...
Medicaid Provider Reassignment Regulation Final Rule
On May 6, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Reassignment of Medicaid Provider Claims Final Rule (CMS 2413-F) to rescind 42 C.F.R § 447.10 (g) (4) regarding a state's ability to reassign or divert certain provider reimbursement to third parties. More specifically, CMS removed the regulatory text at 42 C.F.R ...
SSA
A. Protection from assignment of benefits. Sections 207 and 1631 (d) (1) of the Social Security Act (the Act) prohibit "transfer" or "assignment" of a beneficiary or recipient's right to future payment under title II and title XVI respectively. These sections of the Act prohibit the transfer of control over money to someone other than ...
U.S. Department of Labor
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. have jointly extended the comment period soliciting public input on existing reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans.. The Request for Information 's comment period has been extended for 30 days and ...
What to Do When Your 401(k) Leaves Something to Be Desired
Mr. Gentry is fortunate to work for an employer that offers any kind of plan. Only about half of private-sector U.S. workers are covered by an employer retirement plan at any given time, and the ...
PDF U.s. Department of Homeland Security Headquarters
information is needed to make an informed decision or to re-engage in the interactive process. This may necessitate an extension to the deadline for issuance of the written determination. 3. If the Decision-Maker's decision is reversed, and an accommodation granted, the procedures outlined in Section VI.H of this document will be followed. 4.
'Lack of Respect': Army National Guard Criticized by Lawmakers for
The Army National Guard recently sent out thousands of letters to former soldiers regarding potentially missed bonuses -- asking them to figure out whether they're owed money.
4+1 Commitment equals opportunities for military spouses
If you're a Veteran, military spouse, or are planning your return to civilian life after your military service, we stand ready to offer you assistance and support in your quest for a meaningful career. READ more about VA's 4+1 Commitment. LEARN more about our work at VMSTEP. FOLLOW VMSTEP on Facebook. ACCESS more resources at VA Careers.
319th Special Operations Squadron changes command, marks reassignment
240503-F-FD009-1118. U.S. Air Force Col. Adam E. Moore, the 1st Special Operations Group commander, left, presents the guidon to Lt. Col Caitlin Reilly, the 319th Special Operations Squadrons commander, during the 319th SOS change of command and reassignment ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Florida, May 3, 2024.
Gender-Reassignment Surgery: Everything You Need to Know
Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health ...

Accessibility Report

Detailed Report

Medicare Assignment: Everything You Need to Know

Frequently Asked Questions

Original Medicare

How to Make Sure Your Provider Accepts Assignment

Provider Participation Stats

What If Your Provider Doesn’t Accept Assignment?

Physicians Who Have Opted Out

Billing Options for Providers Who Accept Medicare

What Is Medicare Assignment of Benefits?

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Provider

A Word From Verywell

PECOS for dummies Part I: Reassigning Benefits

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Assignment of Benefits: What It Is, and How It Can Affect your Property Insurance Claim

What is an Assignment of Benefits?

How Does an Assignment of Benefits Work in Practice?

Are There any Downsides to Signing an Assignment of Benefits?

Do I have to sign an Assignment of Benefits?

Are There any Benefits to Signing an Assignment of Benefits?

Can my insurance policy restrict the use of AOBs?

Do I have any rights or protections concerning Assignments of Benefits?

Protections in the AOB Contract

Contractor Duties

Recommended Posts

What is an assignment of benefits?

What is an assignment of benefits?

How an AOB works

Example of an assignment of benefits

When would you need to use an assignment of benefits?

Assignment of benefits for health insurance

Assignment of benefits for car owners

Assignment of benefits for homeowners

The fraud factor

Pros and cons of an assignment of benefits

Pros of assignment of benefits

Cons of assignment of benefits

The takeaway

Medicare’s reassignment of payment rules

Related Posts

How Much of Trump’s Health Agenda Has Biden Undone?

I’m a political scientist, and the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling turned me into a reproductive-rights refugee

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Morning Reports

Recommended

Hearing Aids Can Be Frustrating, but Necessary, for Older Adults

Navigate Site

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Entertainment

New on Yahoo

Yahoo Finance

How an AOB works

Example of an assignment of benefits

When would you need to use an assignment of benefits?

Assignment of benefits for health insurance

Assignment of benefits for car owners

Assignment of benefits for homeowners

The fraud factor

Pros and cons of an assignment of benefits

Pros of assignment of benefits

Cons of assignment of benefits

The takeaway

Search NAIC

Consumer Insight

Assignment of Benefits: Consumer Beware

Reassignment of Benefits

Practice Areas

What Is an Assignment of Benefits?

What Does an Assignment of Benefits Mean?

What Types of Insurance Qualify for an Assignment of Benefits?

Who Uses Assignments of Benefits?

Advantages of Using an Assignment of Benefits

Risks of Using an Assignment of Benefits

How To Make Sure an Assignment of Benefits Is Safe

Can You Sue a Party for Abusing an Assignment of Benefits?

Assignment of Benefits FAQs

Can You Revoke an Assignment of Benefits?

Contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers Today