On June 30, 2020 AHCA notified members that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), Form CMS-R-131, which is issued by SNF and other providers submitting claims for Medicare items and services to beneficiaries in situations where Medicare payment is expected to be denied. The ABN is issued in order to transfer potential financial liability to the Medicare beneficiary in certain instances. Guidelines for issuing the ABN can be found beginning in Section 50 in the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, 100-4, Chapter 30. SNFs issue the ABN to transfer potential financial liability for items/services expected to be denied under Medicare Part B only. The updated ABN, Form CMS-R-131, and form instructions have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal. The ABN form and instructions may be found here.
At that time, CMS indicated that the use of the renewed form with the expiration date of 06/30/2023 will be mandatory on 8/31/2020. However, CMS just announced that due to COVID-19 concerns, CMS has extended the deadline for use of the renewed ABN, Form CMS-R-131 (exp. 6/30/2023). At this time, the renewed ABN will be mandatory for use on 01/01/2021. The renewed form may be implemented prior to the mandatory deadline.