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Precertification is a process used primarily by insurance companies to determine whether a specified service or procedure is medically necessary and is covered under the patient’s insurance policy. This process ensures that the proposed services meet the guidelines set forth by the insurance provider, which helps to prevent unauthorized or unnecessary treatments.

When a medical assistant or healthcare provider initiates precertification, they are essentially seeking approval from the insurance provider to proceed with specific services, confirming that those services will be reimbursed based on the patient’s insurance plan. This is an essential step, as it safeguards both the patient and the provider by ensuring that the costs incurred for the procedure will be covered, barring any specific exclusions within the policy.

The other options, while related to the insurance process, do not capture the primary purpose of precertification. Identifying the patient's insurance policy is necessary for determining coverage, but it does not reflect the primary aim of precertification, which focuses on coverage of specific services rather than the policy itself. Assessing the cost of services and patient liability may occur after precertification, but these aspects are not the primary focus of the precertification process itself.