Revised Form CMS-R-131 Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage

On August 27, 2008 CMS advised all Medicare contractors that the implementation date for mandatory use of the revised Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) (CMS-R-131) has been extended until March 1, 2009.

The revised ABN was released on March 3, 2008 and providers were authorized to begin using the notice immediately. Beginning March 1, 2009, all providers, practitioners and suppliers paid under Part B, shall use the revised ABN (CMS-R-131) in place of the ABN-G (CMS-R-131-G) and ABN-L (CMS-R-131-L).

The revised ABN and form instructions can be accessed at www.cms.hhs.gov/bni on the CMS web site. Beginning March 1, 2009, the ABN-G and ABN-L forms will no longer be valid.