The ABN must clearly identify the service/procedure the surgeon plans to provide, the estimated charge for the service, and state why Medicare may not provide coverage. The ABN affects only those services/procedures you-ve specifically listed. You should not give an ABN to a beneficiary if you have no specific, identifiable reason to believe Medicare will not pay (i.e., a -blanket ABN-). In all cases, you should provide the patient with a completed and signed copy of the ABN for his records.
Helpful hint: To obtain a standardized, sample ABN, visit the CMS Web site www.cms.gov and use the -search- function to locate form CMS-R-131-G.