Well first of all, what is it?
Advance Beneficiary Notices (ABNs)
advise beneficiaries, before items or services actually are furnished,
when Medicare is likely to deny payment for them. ABNs allow beneficiaries
to make informed consumer decisions about receiving items or services
for which they may have to pay out-of-pocket ; and this helps them to
be more active participants in their own health care treatment decisions.
Medicare Announces New
Patient Liability Notice:
In June 2002, the agency published revised Advance
Beneficiary Notices (ABNs) which may be used in connection with Medicare
claims. The new ABNs are part of CMS's Beneficiary Notices Initiative
(BNI). The new version of the ABN (Advanced Beneficiary Notice) is now
supposed to be in use exclusively—effective September 2002.
Where do I get information about it?
Surprise! The government has clear updated information along with PDF
acrobat versions of the Form(s) in English and Spanish at its HCFA (now
CMS) website. Just cruise to:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/refabn.asp
Where
and how is it completed?
It may be completed as part of the preadmission paperwork, or at the time
of admission. What third party companies provide ABN verification services?
We’ve listed three companies and their web addresses below. But don’t
view this as an endorsement. We don’t know enough about their services/references
to recommend anyone.
http://www.info-x-inc.com/MedicalNecessity/Index.htm
http://www.yostengineering.com/
http://www.codecorrect.com/home/
How
will admission clerk know the ABN needs to be completed?
They may not know or notice. That’s a problem since it must be completed
at time of admission, before services are rendered. If this doesn’t
happen, the patient is not liable for the charges.
What are my options for completing the form?
As we see it, you have two basic choices.
1) Admission clerk notices the box checked
for ABN, pulls the form from the bin, stamps or labels it, and gives it
to the patient for signature.
2) Automated forms generation and patient electronic
signature system from FormFast
or another quality provider of access automation services.
