A Medicare Part B provider who 'accepts assignment':

Why A is correct

A provider who accepts assignment agrees to accept the Medicare-approved amount as payment in full for covered services. The provider bills Medicare directly, Medicare pays its share, and the beneficiary is responsible only for the applicable deductible and coinsurance. Providers who do not accept assignment may charge more than the approved amount in some cases, so accepting assignment is the key protection against excess charges for beneficiaries. This makes option A the correct description of what accepting assignment means.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Even non-assignment providers face limits on balance billing under Medicare rules, while assignment providers charge only the approved amount; charging anything the market will bear is not permitted. Medicare constrains how much non-assignment providers may bill, so unlimited charges are impossible.
• C) Assignment concerns the Original Medicare payment process and has nothing to do with network status in an HMO, which is a managed care concept. Network status is a managed care concept that has no bearing on Original Medicare assignment.
• D) Accepting assignment does not waive the Part B deductible; the beneficiary remains responsible for the annual deductible under Medicare rules. The deductible remains the beneficiary's obligation even when the provider accepts assignment.

Memory hook

Assignment = the doctor takes Medicare's price as the whole bill. No surprises, no excess charges.