CMS Update Concerning Required Forms For Notices To Medicare Beneficiaries Regarding Discharge Rights

As mentioned in a prior Health e-Alert, on November 27, 2006 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a "Final Rule" (CMS-4105-F) regarding the notifications hospitals will be required to deliver to every inpatient who is a beneficiary under original Medicare or who is an enrollee under a Medicare Advantage plan (referred to herein as an "Applicable Medicare Beneficiary") regarding such beneficiary's rights upon discharge. As described in our prior e-Alert, CMS requires this notification of an Applicable Medicare Beneficiary's rights upon discharge to be contained in a notice delivered upon admission (referred to as the "Important Message from Medicare" or "IM") and another notice at the time of discharge (referred to as a "Detailed Notice of Discharge"). According to the Final Rule, the new notices must be given to Applicable Medicare Beneficiaries starting July 1, 2007. However, the actual statutorily mandated CMS forms for the two new notices had not been developed at the time of publication of the Final Rule.