If you have Original Medicare, your doctor, other health care provider, or
supplier may give you a written notice if they think Medicare won’t pay for
the items or services you’ll get. This notice is called an “Advance Beneficiary
Notice of Non-coverage,” or ABN. The ABN lists the items or services that
your doctor or health care provider expects Medicare will not pay for, along
with an estimate of the costs for the items and services and the reasons why
Medicare may not pay.
What happens if I get an ABN?
• You’ll be asked to choose whether to get the items or services listed on
the notice.
• If you choose to get the items or services listed on the notice, you’re
agreeing to pay if Medicare doesn’t.
• You’ll be asked to sign the notice to say that you’ve read and understood it.
• Doctors, other health care providers, and suppliers don’t have to
(but still may) give you a notice for services that Medicare never covers.
• An ABN isn’t an official denial of coverage by Medicare. If Medicare denies
payment, you can still file an appeal once you get the “Medicare Summary
Notice” (MSN) showing the item or service in question. However, you’ll
have to pay for the item