Chiropractic care has been proven to be a natural treatment option for individuals of all ages. For those Medicare patients, the claims filing process can become a bit confusing when it comes to secondary insurance. ClinicDr can help you with the question of whether or not a Medicare patient needs to sign an ABN form when they have true secondary insurance.
ABN Forms
For those that do not know, an ABN form stands for an Advanced Beneficiary Notice. ClinicDr believe that it is a good idea for all of the Medicare patients at your chiropractic clinic to have an ABN form on file. This goes for patients that have been visiting your clinic for years, as well as new patients.
Additionally, our team recommends that the ABN form be completed by your Medicare patients at least once per year. If the chiropractic treatment for a Medicare patient transitions from medically necessary care to wellness care, we recommend the ABN form be completed at that time as well. The reason for this is because the chiropractic adjustments are no longer covered by Medicare once they become wellness visits, rather than medically necessary.
What if You Forget?
If you find that you forget to have a patient complete the ABN form, generally speaking your practice will not get in any trouble. If you were to be audited, you would have to follow up with the patient(s) to make sure they put an ABN form on file. Your patients should be your number one priority.
Therefore, it is a good thing to have an ABN form on file so that you can make them aware of what will be covered and what Medicare will deny in regard to their chiropractic treatment.
When it comes to ABN forms and Medicare patients with secondary insurance, the best practice is to have all patients on Medicare complete this form at least once per year with your clinic. That way you can keep them aware of their true out of pocket costs for the chiropractic care.
Anytime Medicare is brought up, chiropractic clinic managers tend to cringe because of the confusion that is caused. By teaming up with ClinicDr, we can be a resource for your practice anytime you have questions. Anytime you need advice, give us a call and we will be happy to assist you with your questions!
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