Ensuring that Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMBs) are not illegally billed for Medicare costs requires improvements on many fronts. One important piece is better identifying QMBs and informing both QMB consumers and their providers that they are subject to billing protections. Justice in Aging is pleased to share two new important resources contributing to that effort.
QMB Identification Survey
The new issue brief, authored by legal services attorney Peter Travitsky, looks at practices in 13 states in identifying QMBs. It finds that, although several states provide no QMB identification cards, others offer examples of best practices to ensure that QMB consumers and their providers know their protected status. The survey was supported by a post-fellowship grant from the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging.
Incorporating QMB protections into Medicare notices
In October 2017, the Medicare program will be rolling out revised Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs) to QMB consumers and revised remittance advice notices to providers. On both notices, for each covered service, a notation will show that the individual is a QMB and that the co-insurance responsibility for each service is zero. To prepare providers for the revised system, CMS released a new Medicare Learning Network Matters article, Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Indicator in the Medicare Fee-For-Service Claims Processing System. As the new system is implemented, the article will be a useful tool for advocates to share with providers and their billing departments.
Visit the improper billing webpage, where you can find many more resources including a toolkit that with model letters to providers, an issue brief on recent improvements in QMB reporting and enforcement, recordings of past webinars on QMB billing and other valuable tools, including an improper billing tracking form that you can use to report instances of improper billing to inform our advocacy.
