Don't expect major changes, but you are required to switch.You should be used to the combined Advance Beneficiary Notification (ABN)/ Notice of Exclusion of Medicare Benefits (NEMB) form implemented last year. But did you know it's time again to upgrade to a newer version?The latest version of the ABN -- form CMS-R-193, with the release date of March 20, 2011 -- is now available at
www.cms.gov/BNI by clicking the "revised ABN" link, said CMS's Donna Williamson during a June 28 CMS Open Door Forum. Although the form doesn't include any substantial changes, mandatory use of the new version begins on Nov. 1, 2011.A caller to the forum asked why the form was updated in the absence of substantial changes, because many practices find it cumbersome and expensive to switch over to new forms. CMS's Stewart Streimer replied that the current ABN form had an expiration date on it, and forms are [...]