Home Health & Hospice Week

You need to put a new expiration date on your Advance Beneficiary Notice forms. ABN Form CMS-R-131 and form instructions “have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal,” CMS says in a message to providers. “While there are no changes to the form itself, providers should take note of the newly incorporated expiration date.”

Also: “With the 2016 PRA submission, a non-substantive change has been made to the ABN,” CMS adds on its website. “In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), the form has been revised to include language informing beneficiaries of their rights to CMS nondiscrimination practices and how to request the ABN in an alternative format if needed.”

The effective date for use of this ABN form is June 21. See the form and more information at www.cms.gov/MEDICARE/medicare-generalinformation/bni/abn.html.