Assignment of Benefits

The assignment of benefits refers to the authorization that a dental patient must sign in order for the insurance carrier to send payment directly to the dentist for services rendered.

Without the assignment of benefits, the insurance agency cannot send the payment directly to the dentist, as the dentist is not the customer of the insurance agency. Instead, the insurance agency would be required to send payment to the customer directly, which can cause confusion and delay for payment.

Most dentist offices have the patient sign the assignments of benefits authorization form when they are completing the paperwork at the beginning of the visit. It is usually a single page document that the patient has to sign, giving the office permission to bill the insurance carrier for services rendered. Sometimes, as long as the insurance information does not change, the dentist office can keep the document on file for future visits, so the patient does not have to sign a new document with each subsequent visit.

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