The “new,” or revised, Home Health Advance Beneficiary Notice (HHABN) is out of the clearance process and available on the CMS website.
Agencies can start using them immediately, although all HHABNs with an expiration date of 08/31/09 — which was on the older form — will be considered invalid on and after April 1, 2011. The Alliance is in the process of organizing an educational program just to be sure everyone understands how to use this form. Stay tuned to our website for details.
Equally important are the expedited appeals process and notices for “traditional” Medicare beneficiaries and for Medicare Advantage. Masspro will be holding 4 regional meetings in January, 2011 on the matter and registration materials will be available soon.
According to the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), HHABNs apply to all services provided by a home health agency, whether potentially included in the home health or other Medicare benefits or outside of the Medicare benefit. The notices must be issued whenever Medicare or the beneficiary is the payer and services and/or Medicare coverage are reduced or discontinued, with certain exceptions. The notice requirements have limited application in cases where other third parties pay for services provided by home health agencies.
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