Medicare ABN's

[Guest guest]

Do other hospital based outpatient PT/OT departments print out ABN's

(advanced beneficiary notices) and require patients to sign the forms? My

hospital's finance department insists that Medicare requires us to print out

a form for each procedure that MIGHT not be covered, informing the patient

that they MIGHT receive a bill for procedures that Medicare MAY not consider

medically necessary. Both the patient and the therapist has to sign the form,

and it supposedly has to be attached to the bill. I polled a few other

departments in the area, and they never heard of it, so either we're way

ahead of the game or really don't know which end is up. (unfortunately, I

suspect the latter) Any insight? experience? wisdom? clarity? sanity?

- Gerhart, PT