Medicare's Advanced Beneficiary Notice: An ethical analysis

摘要

An Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) is a notice that must be completed and signed prior to the delivery of services by patients with Medicare health insurance whenever care providers believe that a particular service or treatment will not be covered. The purpose of the ABN is to inform patients that they may be financially liable for payment of such noncovered services. Written notices leading to the implementation of current ABNs have been used since Section 1879 of the Social Security Act was enacted in 1972, requiring written notices to inform beneficiaries that they may be responsible for paying the costs of services not covered by Medicare .