CMS Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN) Set To Expire Today, Now What?
?? Lance Liberti, MBA
I Help ??Physicians & ?? Healthcare Clinics ?? Increase Patient Outcomes & ?? Add More Revenue, Without ?? Drugs By Adding Office-Based ?? Injection Procedures to Their Practice [email protected]
An Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN), also known as a waiver of liability, is a notice a provider should give to a patient before they receive a service if, based on Medicare coverage rules, the provider has reason to believe Medicare will not pay for the service. Elective procedures such as aesthetics and regenerative medicine techniques and stem cell injections are some examples of the type of services an ABN form may be required for.
As you may know, based on the label at the bottom of the ABN form, “Form CMS-R-131 (Exp. 03/2020),” the ABN form is set to expire at the end of March. However, CMS is now providing information on the expiring ABN form and how providers can proceed.
“The ABN, Form CMS-R-131, is currently awaiting OMB approval for renewal. CMS will provide instructions when it does get approved. In the meantime, continue to use the current form until further instruction is provided.”
Therefore, please continue to use the current ABN form (i.e. the one indicating the 03/2020 expiration date) until CMS provides an update.
To read the official statement by CMS and to download a copy of the current ABN form, please follow this link: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-General-Information/BNI/ABN