Radiology Coding Alert

Question: I recently started working at a practice thatI think overuses ABNs. Is it possible to ask too many patients to sign ABNs?


New York Subscriber

Answer: Absolutely, and you're right to be concerned. You should only use an ABN (Advance Beneficiary Notice), a written notice a provider gives a Medicare beneficiary, before furnishing items or services you believe Medicare will not pay on the basis of medical reasonableness or medical necessity.

"Blanket" use of ABNs (giving an ABN to every Medicare patient) isn't allowed, but you can give an ABN to every patient who is having a frequency-limited service like a screening mammogram. CMS permits this because the imaging facility has no way of knowing for sure when the patient had her last exam.

Have the patient sign the ABN, then give him a copy and keep the original in your files. This way you know, and can prove, you put the patient on notice that Medicare coverage is unlikely. With this information, the patient is then in a better position as a healthcare consumer to make an informed decision about which services he may have to pay for out of pocket or through other insurance.

Don't miss: When issuing an ABN, you must advise the Medicare beneficiary that he will be personally and fully responsible for payment of all items and services specified on the ABN if Medicare denies the claim.

Be aware that Medicare considers an ABN improperly issued under the following circumstances:

• When the provider refuses to answer inquiries from a patient or the patient's authorized representative.

• When a practice uses an ABN to shift liability to the beneficiary for items/services when full payment for those items/services is already bundled into other payments.