Move Over NEMB -- An All New ABN Is Taking Over
Published on Sat Mar 07, 2009
Use it wisely: The OIG is watching $400-million-modifier GY. Just in time for CMS' implementation of its revised Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), the OIG has decided to target modifier GY use in its 2009 work plan. Take a few minutes to be sure you're up to speed on using ABNs and related modifiers. ABN Change Eases NEMB Confusion You may use the new ABN already. But on March 1, the new ABN officially replaces the previous ABN-G (for physicians and therapists) and the ABN-L (for laboratories). It also incorporates the Notice of Exclusions from Medicare Benefits (NEMB), which is good news if you struggled to differentiate between ABNs and the NEMB. CMS expects the new combination form to "eliminate any widespread need for the NEMB in voluntary notification situations," according to the new ABN Form Instructions document. Old way: In the past, ABNs were only for procedures that [...]